Peabody Energy Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:BTU)

Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 16,562 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 146% compared to the average daily volume of 6,740 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BTU has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $30.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. B. Riley Financial cut shares of Peabody Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $42.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research cut shares of Peabody Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Peabody Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Peabody Energy from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Peabody Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $34.13.

Institutional Trading of Peabody Energy

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BTU. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Peabody Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Peabody Energy by 104.3% in the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,006 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Peabody Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Peabody Energy by 1,513.7% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,178 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Peabody Energy by 258.7% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,607 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,159 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Peabody Energy Trading Up 2.1%

Peabody Energy stock traded up $0.49 during trading on Thursday, reaching $23.85. 490,333 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,291,205. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.13. The company has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -24.08 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.37. Peabody Energy has a 52-week low of $12.58 and a 52-week high of $41.14.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The coal producer reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.14 by ($0.40). Peabody Energy had a negative net margin of 3.07% and a negative return on equity of 2.80%. The firm had revenue of $973.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $977.42 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.27 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Peabody Energy will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be paid a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is -30.30%.

About Peabody Energy

Peabody Energy Corporation is one of the world’s largest private-sector coal companies, engaged primarily in the production and sale of metallurgical and thermal coal. The company’s operations span surface and underground mines, serving utilities, steel mills and other industrial customers that rely on coal as an essential component in power generation and steelmaking. Peabody’s product portfolio includes high-energy thermal coal for electricity generation and low-volatile metallurgical coal used in steel production, reflecting its diverse end-market reach.

Founded in 1883, Peabody Energy has grown from a regional mining concern into a global energy supplier.