Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 12,600 shares of the coal producer’s stock, valued at approximately $306,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BTU. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Peabody Energy by 106.1% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,154,535 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $52,398,000 after purchasing an additional 1,109,261 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Peabody Energy by 22.4% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,920,570 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $49,916,000 after purchasing an additional 351,103 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Peabody Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $8,982,000. Gendell Jeffrey L boosted its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 18.6% in the third quarter. Gendell Jeffrey L now owns 2,194,474 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $57,034,000 after buying an additional 344,793 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 124.4% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 472,281 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $12,275,000 after buying an additional 261,821 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

Shares of BTU opened at $23.65 on Friday. Peabody Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $17.71 and a 12 month high of $27.24. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The coal producer reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.08). Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 15.36%. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.65 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 24.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Peabody Energy Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is 6.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Peabody Energy news, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 6,826 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.57, for a total transaction of $167,714.82. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,854,150.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Peabody Energy news, COO Darren Ronald Yeates sold 31,980 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.48, for a total transaction of $814,850.40. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 78,307 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,995,262.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 6,826 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.57, for a total transaction of $167,714.82. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,464 shares in the company, valued at $1,854,150.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 52,806 shares of company stock worth $1,339,565. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BTU has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of Peabody Energy in a report on Friday, April 12th. B. Riley reduced their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 15th.

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.