Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) Short Interest Update

Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) saw a large drop in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 13,650,000 shares, a drop of 13.1% from the October 31st total of 15,700,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,860,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.8 days.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BTU traded down $0.06 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $23.54. The stock had a trading volume of 2,069,028 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,041,779. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.23 and a beta of 0.95. Peabody Energy has a 12-month low of $20.21 and a 12-month high of $29.94. 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 released 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. The firm had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. Peabody Energy had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 14.74%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.80 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Peabody Energy will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.94%.

Insider Activity at Peabody Energy

In other news, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 10,000 shares of the 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 owns 65,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,939,759.20. This represents a 13.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky purchased a new position in shares of Peabody Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,019,000. Comerica Bank increased its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 580.4% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 54,153 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $1,314,000 after buying an additional 46,194 shares in the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 91.4% during the 2nd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 70,674 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $1,563,000 after buying an additional 33,758 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Peabody Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $893,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in Peabody Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $1,446,000. 87.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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