Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU)

Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) was the target of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors bought 16,617 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 59% compared to the average volume of 10,476 call options.

Peabody Energy Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE BTU traded down $0.24 on Tuesday, reaching $18.58. The company had a trading volume of 3,332,315 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,445,550. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.92 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s fifty day moving average is $23.19 and its 200 day moving average is $23.43. Peabody Energy has a 52-week low of $17.73 and a 52-week high of $29.94.

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

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.94%.

Insider Activity at Peabody Energy

In other Peabody Energy news, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 65,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,939,759.20. This trade represents a 13.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Peabody Energy

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BTU. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 265,937.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 8,023,686 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $212,949,000 after acquiring an additional 8,020,670 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 7.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,631,707 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $202,546,000 after buying an additional 540,219 shares during the period. Progeny 3 Inc. lifted its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. now owns 3,580,014 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $95,014,000 after buying an additional 56,280 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Peabody Energy by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,918,536 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $77,473,000 after acquiring an additional 216,887 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Peabody Energy by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,388,681 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $36,856,000 after acquiring an additional 171,272 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on BTU shares. 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 note on Monday, December 16th. B. Riley raised their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group 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 Monday, January 6th.

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.