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

Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) was the target of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors bought 16,617 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 59% compared to the average volume of 10,476 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on BTU shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Peabody Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, B. Riley upped their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th.

Peabody Energy Stock Down 1.3 %

BTU traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $18.58. 3,332,315 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,445,550. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $23.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.43. Peabody Energy has a 1-year low of $17.73 and a 1-year high of $29.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.92 and a beta of 0.99.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The coal producer reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. Peabody Energy had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 14.74%. Peabody Energy’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.80 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Peabody Energy will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.94%.

Insider Activity at Peabody Energy

In other Peabody Energy news, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.52, for a total transaction of $295,200.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 65,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,939,759.20. This represents a 13.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Peabody Energy

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BTU. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased 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 last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 7.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,631,707 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $202,546,000 after purchasing an additional 540,219 shares during the last quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. increased its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 1.6% in the third quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. now owns 3,580,014 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $95,014,000 after buying an additional 56,280 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Peabody Energy by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,918,536 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $77,473,000 after buying an additional 216,887 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Peabody Energy by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,388,681 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $36,856,000 after buying an additional 171,272 shares during the period. 87.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.