Islay Capital Management LLC Purchases Shares of 32,456 Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)

Islay Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 32,456 shares of the coal producer’s stock, valued at approximately $680,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BTU. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Peabody Energy by 113.5% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,350,855 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $28,287,000 after purchasing an additional 718,274 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,631,707 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $202,546,000 after buying an additional 540,219 shares during the period. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Peabody Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $8,565,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 105.5% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 646,152 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $13,530,000 after acquiring an additional 331,759 shares during the period. Finally, Yaupon Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Peabody Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $8,484,000. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Benchmark lowered 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 Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised Peabody Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th.

Peabody Energy Trading Down 12.6 %

NYSE BTU opened at $10.44 on Friday. Peabody Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $10.27 and a 52 week high of $29.94. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $14.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a PE ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.94.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The coal producer reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.25). Peabody Energy had a net margin of 8.75% and a return on equity of 10.33%. As a group, research analysts expect that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th were paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. Peabody Energy’s 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.