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

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

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

Shares of BTU stock traded down $0.27 on Tuesday, hitting $21.23. The company had a trading volume of 786,505 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,951,224. The firm has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.69 and a beta of 0.95. Peabody Energy has a twelve month low of $20.21 and a twelve month high of $29.94. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $25.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

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

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is 7.94%.

Insider Activity at Peabody Energy

In related news, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,710 shares in the company, valued at $1,939,759.20. The trade was a 13.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peabody Energy

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Zacks Investment Management purchased a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy during the third quarter worth $1,714,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in Peabody Energy by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,631,707 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $202,546,000 after acquiring an additional 540,219 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Peabody Energy by 167.4% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 200,073 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $5,310,000 after acquiring an additional 125,244 shares during the last quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP lifted its stake in Peabody Energy by 75.2% in the 3rd quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP now owns 81,919 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $2,174,000 after purchasing an additional 35,159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 255.7% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 117,071 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $3,107,000 after purchasing an additional 84,161 shares during the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Benchmark boosted their price objective 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 boosted their price target on Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Peabody Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective for the company in a research note 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.