Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Peabody Energy Call Options (NYSE:BTU)

Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Investors acquired 23,312 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 83% compared to the typical volume of 12,706 call options.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

Peabody Energy stock opened at $14.19 on Wednesday. Peabody Energy has a one year low of $12.15 and a one year high of $29.94. 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’s 50 day moving average is $16.28 and its 200 day moving average is $21.28. The firm has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.25 and a beta of 0.94.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The coal producer reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.25). Peabody Energy had a net margin of 8.75% and a return on equity of 10.33%. As a group, research analysts expect that Peabody Energy will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.11%.

Institutional Trading of Peabody Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BTU. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Peabody Energy by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 167,377 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $4,442,000 after acquiring an additional 7,483 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy in the third quarter worth $218,000. Royce & Associates LP purchased a new position in Peabody Energy during the third quarter valued at $223,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Peabody Energy by 9.0% during the third quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 18,935 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $503,000 after purchasing an additional 1,566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 12.7% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 98,868 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $2,624,000 after acquiring an additional 11,145 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BTU has been the subject of several analyst reports. Benchmark decreased their target price on Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised Peabody Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. 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.