Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) Shares Sold by Chiron Investment Management LLC

Chiron Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) by 76.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,800 shares of the coal producer’s stock after selling 29,327 shares during the quarter. Chiron Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Peabody Energy were worth $234,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Peabody Energy by 11,390.0% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,149 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,139 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Peabody Energy by 292.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,057 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 1,533 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BTU has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Peabody Energy from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, B. Riley increased their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

BTU opened at $22.37 on Wednesday. Peabody Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $20.21 and a 1-year high of $29.94. The company has a market capitalization of $2.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $25.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.75.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The coal producer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.16. Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 12.24%. The business had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.80 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Peabody Energy Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Peabody Energy news, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 10,000 shares of Peabody Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.52, for a total value of $295,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 65,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,939,759.20. The trade was a 13.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

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.