LPL Financial LLC Has $2.84 Million Stock Position in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)

LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU – Get Rating) by 37.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 107,329 shares of the coal producer’s stock after buying an additional 29,386 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.07% of Peabody Energy worth $2,836,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Peabody Energy by 49.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,873,533 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $193,137,000 after purchasing an additional 2,595,279 shares in the last quarter. First Republic Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Peabody Energy by 2,249.0% during the 1st quarter. First Republic Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,104,738 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $51,629,000 after purchasing an additional 2,015,138 shares in the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP bought a new stake in Peabody Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,899,000. PointState Capital LP bought a new stake in Peabody Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,379,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Peabody Energy by 289.1% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,158,121 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $28,743,000 after purchasing an additional 860,517 shares in the last quarter. 77.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. B. Riley decreased their price objective on Peabody Energy from $39.00 to $29.00 in a report on Monday, May 1st. Benchmark upped their target price on Peabody Energy from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Peabody Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Peabody Energy

In other Peabody Energy news, CAO Scott T. Jarboe sold 11,573 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.88, for a total transaction of $299,509.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 62,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,628,628.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Peabody Energy news, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 21,070 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.88, for a total transaction of $545,291.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 67,108 shares in the company, valued at $1,736,755.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Scott T. Jarboe sold 11,573 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.88, for a total value of $299,509.24. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 62,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,628,628.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 289,939 shares of company stock valued at $8,152,007. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

BTU stock opened at $20.38 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The business has a 50 day moving average of $24.01 and a 200-day moving average of $26.54. Peabody Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $17.42 and a 12-month high of $32.89.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The coal producer reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.11. Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 48.04% and a net margin of 29.80%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.51 earnings per share. Peabody Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 97.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Peabody Energy Co. will post 6.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Peabody Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 10th. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.87%.

Peabody Energy announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, April 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the coal producer to reacquire up to 26.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

About Peabody Energy

(Get Rating)

Peabody Energy Corp. engages in the business of coal mining. It operates through the following business segments: Powder River Basin, Midwestern U.S., Western U.S., Seaborne Metallurgical, Seaborne Thermal Mining and Corporate and Other. The Powder River Basin Mining segment consists of its mines in Wyoming.