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

Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 19,812 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 19% compared to the typical daily volume of 16,676 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on BTU shares. UBS Group began coverage on Peabody Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $14.00 target price on the stock. B. Riley cut their price target on Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Benchmark cut their price target on Peabody Energy from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $21.60.

Peabody Energy Trading Up 9.0%

NYSE:BTU traded up $1.44 on Tuesday, hitting $17.35. 12,991,474 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,795,650. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.47 and a beta of 0.52. Peabody Energy has a 52 week low of $9.61 and a 52 week high of $29.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 2.36. The company's 50-day moving average price is $14.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.60.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The coal producer reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $937.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $976.57 million. Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 10.05% and a net margin of 8.73%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.30 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Peabody Energy will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. Peabody Energy's payout ratio is 11.19%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peabody Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Peabody Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $3,474,000. GeoSphere Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Peabody Energy by 132.2% during the fourth quarter. GeoSphere Capital Management LLC now owns 100,000 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $2,094,000 after purchasing an additional 56,929 shares during the period. PDT Partners LLC bought a new stake in Peabody Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $4,515,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Peabody Energy by 26.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 788,426 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $16,510,000 after purchasing an additional 164,987 shares during the period. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Peabody Energy during the first quarter worth about $156,000. 87.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.