Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) was the target of a large decline in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 12,850,000 shares, a decline of 5.9% from the November 15th total of 13,650,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,830,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.5 days.

Peabody Energy Stock Down 0.3 %

BTU opened at $21.45 on Wednesday. Peabody Energy has a 1-year low of $20.21 and a 1-year high of $29.94. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a 50 day moving average of $25.26 and a 200-day moving average of $23.82.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The coal producer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.16. Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 12.24%. The company had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.80 earnings per share. Peabody Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is 7.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Peabody Energy news, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.52, for a total transaction of $295,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 65,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,939,759.20. This represents a 13.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 79.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 175,424 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $4,693,000 after purchasing an additional 77,525 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 16.5% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 37,826 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $1,037,000 after purchasing an additional 5,361 shares in the last quarter. Old West Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Peabody Energy in the third quarter valued at $488,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 8.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,918,536 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $77,473,000 after purchasing an additional 216,887 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 323.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 248,891 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $6,605,000 after purchasing an additional 190,120 shares in the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. B. Riley upped their target price on Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Benchmark upped their target price on Peabody Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, 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 research report on Monday.

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.