Maverick Capital Ltd. Raises Stock Position in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)

Maverick Capital Ltd. grew its position in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) by 32.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 93,846 shares of the coal producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,172 shares during the quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd.’s holdings in Peabody Energy were worth $2,491,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 11,390.0% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,149 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,139 shares during the period. 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. acquired a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy during the second quarter worth $44,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 292.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,057 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,533 shares during the period. 87.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Peabody Energy Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of BTU stock opened at $23.85 on Friday. Peabody Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $20.21 and a fifty-two week high of $29.94. The stock has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.31 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The coal producer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Peabody Energy Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Peabody Energy news, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.52, for a total value of $295,200.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,939,759.20. This trade represents a 13.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on BTU shares. Benchmark increased their price target on Peabody Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Peabody Energy from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, B. Riley increased their price objective on Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th.

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.