LPL Financial LLC Sells 2,175 Shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)

LPL Financial LLC reduced its stake in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 84,319 shares of the coal producer’s stock after selling 2,175 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.07% of Peabody Energy worth $1,766,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 144.2% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,951 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 2,333 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 327,601 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $6,860,000 after purchasing an additional 7,586 shares during the period. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,889,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 43,766 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $916,000 after purchasing an additional 5,940 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 52.1% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 57,800 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $1,210,000 after purchasing an additional 19,800 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BTU. B. Riley dropped their price objective on Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Benchmark decreased their target price on Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th.

Peabody Energy Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Peabody Energy stock opened at $12.26 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.72. Peabody Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $9.61 and a 12-month high of $29.94. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The coal producer reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.25). Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 10.33% and a net margin of 8.75%. Research analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th were issued a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is currently 11.11%.

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.