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

Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 16,617 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 59% compared to the typical daily volume of 10,476 call options.

Peabody Energy Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE:BTU traded down $0.24 on Tuesday, hitting $18.58. 3,332,367 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,502,708. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.92 and a beta of 0.99. Peabody Energy has a 52 week low of $17.73 and a 52 week high of $29.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.32. The company's 50-day moving average price is $23.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.41.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The coal producer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.07 billion. Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 12.24%. The company's quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.80 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Peabody Energy will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.52, for a total value of $295,200.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 65,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,939,759.20. The trade was a 13.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Peabody Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BTU. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,897 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $183,000 after acquiring an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 10,023 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 709 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 43.0% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,350 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 69.7% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,802 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 1,151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 145,613 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $3,865,000 after acquiring an additional 1,242 shares during the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on BTU shares. 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. B. Riley lifted their price target on Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Benchmark lifted their price target on Peabody Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. 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.

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.