Invesco Ltd. Buys 164,987 Shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)

Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) by 26.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 788,426 shares of the coal producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 164,987 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 0.65% of Peabody Energy worth $16,510,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Peabody Energy by 167.2% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 744 shares during the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Peabody Energy by 63.3% in the 4th quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,755 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 680 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in Peabody Energy by 144.2% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,951 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 2,333 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in Peabody Energy by 120.2% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,289 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 2,341 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Peabody Energy by 37.0% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,762 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 1,286 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Peabody Energy Trading Up 5.4 %

BTU opened at $12.89 on Monday. Peabody Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $9.61 and a twelve month high of $29.94. The company has a fifty day moving average of $13.50 and a 200-day moving average of $19.45. The stock has a market cap of $1.57 billion, a PE ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The coal producer reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.25). Peabody Energy had a net margin of 8.75% and a return on equity of 10.33%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders 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 2.33%. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is currently 11.11%.

Peabody Energy 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.