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

Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Traders bought 23,312 call options on the company. This is an increase of 83% compared to the typical volume of 12,706 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peabody Energy

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BTU. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Peabody Energy by 4.7% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 167,377 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $4,442,000 after purchasing an additional 7,483 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Peabody Energy in the third quarter worth about $218,000. Royce & Associates LP purchased a new position in shares of Peabody Energy in the third quarter worth about $223,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 9.0% in the third quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 18,935 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $503,000 after buying an additional 1,566 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 12.7% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 98,868 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $2,624,000 after buying an additional 11,145 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

NYSE:BTU traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $13.41. 1,796,078 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,768,125. The firm has a market cap of $1.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 0.94. Peabody Energy has a 52 week low of $12.15 and a 52 week high of $29.94. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $16.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The coal producer reported $0.28 earnings per share (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, research analysts anticipate 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 given a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is 11.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on BTU. Benchmark cut their price target on Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report 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 target for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target 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 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.