Rheos Capital Works Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)

Rheos Capital Works Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU - Free Report) by 31.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 399,500 shares of the coal producer's stock after selling 180,000 shares during the period. Rheos Capital Works Inc. owned approximately 0.33% of Peabody Energy worth $8,366,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BTU. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new stake in Peabody Energy in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy in the third quarter worth about $43,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Peabody Energy by 292.6% during 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 period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Peabody Energy by 139.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,756 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,607 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 69.7% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,802 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 1,151 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BTU has been the subject of several recent research reports. Benchmark lifted their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Peabody Energy from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

BTU traded down $1.56 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $16.43. 8,137,037 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,294,622. The company has a market capitalization of $2.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Peabody Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $16.34 and a 52-week high of $29.94.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The coal producer reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.25). Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 12.24%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. Peabody Energy's payout ratio is currently 7.94%.

Peabody Energy Company Profile

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.