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

Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of 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 trading volume of 2,830,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.5 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Peabody Energy

In other Peabody Energy news, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 10,000 shares of Peabody Energy 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,939,759.20. This trade represents a 13.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Peabody Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zacks Investment Management acquired a new stake in Peabody Energy in the third quarter worth about $1,714,000. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,631,707 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $202,546,000 after buying an additional 540,219 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 167.4% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 200,073 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $5,310,000 after buying an additional 125,244 shares during the period. Readystate Asset Management LP grew its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 75.2% during the 3rd quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP now owns 81,919 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $2,174,000 after buying an additional 35,159 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position 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 buying an additional 84,161 shares during the period. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on BTU shares. B. Riley lifted their price target on Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. BMO Capital Markets raised Peabody Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Benchmark lifted their price target on Peabody Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

Peabody Energy stock opened at $21.45 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.82. 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 has a 12-month low of $20.21 and a 12-month high of $29.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.95.

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

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is 7.94%.

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.