Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Peabody Energy Call Options (NYSE:BTU)

Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) saw unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock investors acquired 23,312 call options on the company. This is an increase of 83% compared to the average volume of 12,706 call options.

Institutional Trading of Peabody Energy

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BTU. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,162,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $1,742,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Peabody Energy by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 162,948 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $3,412,000 after purchasing an additional 17,335 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC raised its position in Peabody Energy by 187.6% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 35,081 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $735,000 after purchasing an additional 22,884 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming lifted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 51.3% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 36,559 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $766,000 after buying an additional 12,403 shares during the period. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on BTU. 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 note on Monday, December 16th. Benchmark lowered their price target on Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th.

Peabody Energy Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of BTU stock opened at $13.33 on Tuesday. Peabody Energy has a 52-week low of $12.15 and a 52-week high of $29.94. The business’s fifty day moving average is $16.38 and its 200 day moving average is $21.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.15. The company has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a PE ratio of 4.94 and a beta of 0.94.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy 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 issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.11%.

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.