Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Peabody Energy Corporation $BTU

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) by 8.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,518,351 shares of the coal producer’s stock after buying an additional 118,307 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 1.25% of Peabody Energy worth $20,574,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BTU. Quarry LP bought a new position in Peabody Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 315.0% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,125 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,613 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 70.7% in 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. Byrne Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 84.9% during the first quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 3,245 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the first quarter valued at about $46,000. Institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Peabody Energy Stock Down 0.6%

BTU opened at $15.9050 on Friday. Peabody Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $9.61 and a twelve month high of $29.94. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $15.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.33. The stock has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The coal producer reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.02). Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 4.41% and a net margin of 3.43%.The company had revenue of $890.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $944.27 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.42 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Peabody Energy Corporation will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BTU. Benchmark reduced their price objective 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 boosted their target price on Peabody Energy from $14.00 to $15.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Peabody Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.90.

About Peabody Energy

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.