Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) Shares Sold by Quantbot Technologies LP

Quantbot Technologies LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU - Free Report) by 39.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 80,633 shares of the coal producer's stock after selling 52,435 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP owned about 0.07% of Peabody Energy worth $2,140,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Peabody Energy by 11,390.0% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,149 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 1,139 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new position in Peabody Energy in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Peabody Energy in the third quarter worth $43,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 292.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,057 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 1,533 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.52, for a total transaction of $295,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,939,759.20. This represents a 13.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. B. Riley lifted their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:BTU traded down $0.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $23.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,822,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,001,159. The business's fifty day moving average is $26.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The stock has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.31 and a beta of 0.98. Peabody Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $20.21 and a 1 year high of $29.94.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The coal producer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 12.24%. Peabody Energy's revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.80 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. Peabody Energy's payout ratio is presently 7.94%.

About Peabody Energy

Peabody Energy Corporation engages in coal mining business in the United States, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, India, Brazil, Belgium, Chile, France, Indonesia, China, Vietnam, South Korea, Germany, and internationally. The company operates through Seaborne Thermal, Seaborne Metallurgical, Powder River Basin, Other U.S.