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

Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 41,828 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 165% compared to the average volume of 15,755 call options.

Peabody Energy Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of Peabody Energy stock opened at $14.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 2.36. Peabody Energy has a 52-week low of $9.61 and a 52-week high of $29.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $13.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.13.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The coal producer reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.20. Peabody Energy had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 10.05%. The firm had revenue of $937.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $976.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Peabody Energy will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is 11.19%.

Institutional Trading of Peabody Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BTU. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Peabody Energy by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,422,400 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $29,785,000 after acquiring an additional 125,372 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in Peabody Energy by 120.2% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,289 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 2,341 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Peabody Energy by 167.2% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 744 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in Peabody Energy by 144.2% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,951 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 2,333 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Peabody Energy by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,400,044 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $29,317,000 after buying an additional 11,363 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. B. Riley cut their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Benchmark cut their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 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.