Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) Short Interest Up 5.4% in May

Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) saw a large growth in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 17,730,000 shares, a growth of 5.4% from the May 15th total of 16,820,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,770,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.4 days.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

NYSE BTU opened at $22.49 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a current ratio of 2.36. Peabody Energy has a fifty-two week low of $20.40 and a fifty-two week high of $27.24.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The coal producer reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30. The company had revenue of $983.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $980.03 million. Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 11.62%. Peabody Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.69 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Peabody Energy will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were issued a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is 8.36%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peabody Energy

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Peabody Energy by 21.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,957,602 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $338,611,000 after purchasing an additional 2,473,286 shares in the last quarter. Thomist Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 483.0% during the 1st quarter. Thomist Capital Management LP now owns 2,024,769 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $49,121,000 after buying an additional 1,677,448 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Peabody Energy by 106.1% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,154,535 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $52,398,000 after acquiring an additional 1,109,261 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Peabody Energy by 4,386.6% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 646,648 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $15,688,000 after acquiring an additional 632,235 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners increased its holdings in Peabody Energy by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,348,251 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $178,118,000 after acquiring an additional 618,395 shares in the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BTU has been the subject of several research reports. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Peabody Energy in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. B. Riley lowered their price target on Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Peabody Energy from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.25.

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.