Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) by 2.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 605,071 shares of the coal producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,572 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.50% of Peabody Energy worth $8,199,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 13,234 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 693 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd boosted its stake in Peabody Energy by 45.0% during the fourth quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 2,900 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. BOKF NA raised its holdings in Peabody Energy by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. BOKF NA now owns 22,236 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $466,000 after buying an additional 1,050 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Peabody Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 70.7% during the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 3,092 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281 shares during the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

Peabody Energy stock opened at $14.88 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.76. The company has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.52. Peabody Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $9.61 and a 1 year high of $29.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 2.36.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The coal producer reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.20. Peabody Energy had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 10.05%. The firm had revenue of $937.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $976.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.30 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Peabody Energy Corporation will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is currently 11.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on BTU. Benchmark dropped their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Peabody Energy in a report on Tuesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $14.00 target price on the stock. Finally, B. Riley lowered their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.60.

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.