Peabody Energy Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:BTU)

Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 21,125 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 47% compared to the average daily volume of 14,365 call options.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

Peabody Energy stock opened at $12.36 on Thursday. Peabody Energy has a fifty-two week low of $9.61 and a fifty-two week high of $29.94. The company has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.58 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $14.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.15.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last posted 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 return on equity of 10.33% and a net margin of 8.75%. On average, analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is 11.11%.

Institutional Trading of Peabody Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BTU. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 167.2% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 744 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Peabody Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Peabody Energy by 63.3% during the fourth quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,755 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 680 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd lifted its position in Peabody Energy by 45.0% during the fourth quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 2,900 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis acquired a new stake in Peabody Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $67,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Benchmark decreased 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. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded 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 report on Monday, December 16th.

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.