Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) saw a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 14,800,000 shares, an increase of 28.2% from the February 13th total of 11,540,000 shares. Currently, 12.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 3,340,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.4 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BTU has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Benchmark decreased their price target on 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 for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peabody Energy

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 265,937.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 8,023,686 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $212,949,000 after purchasing an additional 8,020,670 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $15,352,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 113.5% in the 4th 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 grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 540,219 shares during the period. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,565,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BTU traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $13.35. 2,059,844 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,769,349. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $16.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 0.94. Peabody Energy has a 1-year low of $12.15 and a 1-year high of $29.94.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last posted its quarterly 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Peabody Energy will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were issued a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.