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

Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors acquired 21,125 call options on the company. This is an increase of 47% compared to the typical volume of 14,365 call options.

Institutional Trading of Peabody Energy

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BTU. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 714.6% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,570 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 4,009 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Peabody Energy by 1,433.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 31,883 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 29,804 shares in the last quarter. 111 Capital bought a new stake in Peabody Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $289,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Peabody Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,162,000. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in Peabody Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,742,000. 87.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:BTU opened at $12.36 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $14.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market cap of $1.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.58 and a beta of 0.52. Peabody Energy has a 1-year low of $9.61 and a 1-year high of $29.94.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 8.75% and a return on equity of 10.33%. On average, research analysts expect that Peabody Energy will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is currently 11.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on BTU. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective 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 raised Peabody Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Benchmark decreased their price target on Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th.

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.