Private Capital Management LLC Has $953,000 Holdings in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)

Private Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) by 78.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 35,900 shares of the coal producer’s stock after selling 131,000 shares during the quarter. Private Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Peabody Energy were worth $953,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Denali Advisors LLC raised its position in Peabody Energy by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 151,111 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $3,164,000 after buying an additional 3,329 shares during the last quarter. Sprott Inc. bought a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $254,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 72,053 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $1,509,000 after purchasing an additional 10,169 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,422,400 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $29,785,000 after purchasing an additional 125,372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Convergence Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy in the fourth quarter worth $856,000. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BTU has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Peabody Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Benchmark lowered their target price 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 Price Performance

NYSE:BTU opened at $13.77 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.18. Peabody Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $13.68 and a 1-year high of $29.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a PE ratio of 5.10 and a beta of 0.95.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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, research analysts expect that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 11.11%.

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.