Has BTU Hit Rock Bottom Or Is There No Hope For Coal Stocks?

Hedge fund activity in Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU)

Heading into Q2, a total of 19 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock , a change of -34% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were still optimistic.

Of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Balyasny Asset Management, managed by Dmitry Balyasny, holds the most valuable position in Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU). Balyasny Asset Management has a $134.3 million position in the stock, comprising 1.1% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Kopernik Global Investors, led by David Iben, holding a $45.7 million position; 11.4% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other members of the smart money that are bullish encompass Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies and David E. Shaw’s D E Shaw.

Seeing as Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) has witnessed bearish sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it’s easy to see that there lies a certain “tier” of hedge funds that decided to sell off their positions entirely last quarter. Interestingly, David Costen Haley’s HBK Investments sold off the largest position of all the hedgies watched by Insider Monkey, worth an estimated $18.6 million in stock, and Israel Englander of Millennium Management was right behind this move, as the fund dumped about $15.7 million worth. These moves are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest was cut by 10 funds last quarter.

Considering the removal of Peabody from the S&P 400 index and the bearish hedge fund sentiment over the stock, it is not a good investment at the moment. We recommend a sell on this stock.

Disclosure: None