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

Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock traders bought 23,312 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 83% compared to the average volume of 12,706 call options.

Institutional Trading of Peabody Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BTU. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 167.2% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 744 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Peabody Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Peabody Energy by 63.3% in the fourth quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,755 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 680 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd increased its stake in Peabody Energy by 45.0% in the fourth quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 2,900 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis acquired a new stake in Peabody Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $67,000. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

Shares of Peabody Energy stock traded up $0.13 during trading on Friday, reaching $13.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,027,520 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,783,805. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $16.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.17 and a beta of 0.94. Peabody Energy has a 12-month low of $12.15 and a 12-month high of $29.94.

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Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) last posted its 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 2.15%. Peabody Energy's payout ratio is 11.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented 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 report on Monday, January 6th. 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 research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Benchmark lowered their target price on Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th.

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.