Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Peabody Energy Put Options (NYSE:BTU)

Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 23,268 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 92% compared to the average daily volume of 12,106 put options.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 shares were sold at an average price of $29.52, for a total transaction of $295,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Peabody Energy

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 9.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,897 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $183,000 after acquiring an additional 611 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 7.6% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 10,023 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 709 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 43.0% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,350 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Peabody Energy by 11,390.0% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,149 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 1,139 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Peabody Energy by 69.7% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,802 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 1,151 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Peabody Energy Trading Down 5.5 %

NYSE BTU traded down $1.44 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $24.55. The stock had a trading volume of 2,994,411 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,991,505. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.88 and a beta of 0.98. Peabody Energy has a one year low of $20.21 and a one year high of $29.94. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.85.

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

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is currently 7.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on BTU shares. Benchmark increased their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. B. Riley increased their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th.

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.