Peabody Energy Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:BTU)

Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders bought 9,490 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 43% compared to the typical daily volume of 6,616 call options.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

BTU traded up $3.21 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $39.47. The company had a trading volume of 4,411,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,062,376. Peabody Energy has a 12-month low of $9.61 and a 12-month high of $41.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.85. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $34.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.07. The stock has a market cap of $4.81 billion, a PE ratio of -87.53 and a beta of 0.54.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The coal producer reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($0.01). Peabody Energy had a negative net margin of 1.37% and a negative return on equity of 0.93%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.25 earnings per share. Peabody Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Peabody Energy will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is -66.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BTU has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of Peabody Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $34.00 to $34.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Peabody Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Peabody Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Peabody Energy from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Peabody Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Scott T. Jarboe sold 2,151 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.26, for a total value of $73,693.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 82,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,819,803.56. This represents a 2.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Darren Ronald Yeates sold 13,892 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.40, for a total transaction of $505,668.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 113,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,129,216. This represents a 10.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peabody Energy

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BTU. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Peabody Energy by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 24,328 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $723,000 after purchasing an additional 668 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new stake in Peabody Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $213,000. Regal Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in Peabody Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $6,309,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Peabody Energy by 30.1% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 548,607 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $16,294,000 after buying an additional 126,805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in Peabody Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $471,000. 87.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Peabody Energy

Peabody Energy Corporation is one of the world’s largest private-sector coal companies, engaged primarily in the production and sale of metallurgical and thermal coal. The company’s operations span surface and underground mines, serving utilities, steel mills and other industrial customers that rely on coal as an essential component in power generation and steelmaking. Peabody’s product portfolio includes high-energy thermal coal for electricity generation and low-volatile metallurgical coal used in steel production, reflecting its diverse end-market reach.

Founded in 1883, Peabody Energy has grown from a regional mining concern into a global energy supplier.