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

Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 21,125 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 47% compared to the typical volume of 14,365 call options.

Institutional Trading of Peabody Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BTU. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Peabody Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $15,352,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 113.5% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,350,855 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $28,287,000 after buying an additional 718,274 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Peabody Energy by 7.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,631,707 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $202,546,000 after acquiring an additional 540,219 shares during the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Peabody Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $8,565,000. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 1,543,915 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $32,330,000 after acquiring an additional 360,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.44% of the company's stock.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

NYSE BTU traded down $0.70 on Monday, hitting $12.03. 7,485,009 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,195,167. Peabody Energy has a 52 week low of $9.61 and a 52 week high of $29.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $13.94 and a 200-day moving average of $19.92. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.52.

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Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The coal producer reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.25). Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 10.33% and a net margin of 8.75%. Analysts expect that Peabody Energy will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th were paid a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. Peabody Energy's payout ratio is 11.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BTU has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. B. Riley reduced their price target on Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Benchmark reduced their target price on Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped 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 Monday, January 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of 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.

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.