Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU)

Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors bought 20,512 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 66% compared to the average volume of 12,364 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of Peabody Energy in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target 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. Finally, B. Riley lowered their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “buy” 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 assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Peabody Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.25.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

Shares of BTU stock opened at $23.77 on Tuesday. Peabody Energy has a one year low of $20.66 and a one year high of $27.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $22.90 and a 200-day moving average of $24.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.86. The company has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.62 and a beta of 0.97.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.69 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Peabody Energy will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were given a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 15th. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.36%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 17,075.0% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,374 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,366 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Peabody Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Natixis boosted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 8,355.0% in the 1st quarter. Natixis now owns 1,691 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,671 shares during the period. TFO Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 48,475.0% in the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,943 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,939 shares during the period. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Peabody Energy by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 3,690 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 630 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

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.