Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) Short Interest Down 13.1% in November

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

Peabody Energy Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of BTU stock traded down $0.06 on Tuesday, reaching $23.54. 2,004,305 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,999,017. Peabody Energy has a 1-year low of $20.21 and a 1-year high of $29.94. The stock has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.24 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $26.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.90.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The coal producer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 firm earned $0.80 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. B. Riley lifted their price objective on Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Peabody Energy from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Benchmark upped their price objective on Peabody Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st.

Insider Transactions at Peabody Energy

In other news, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 65,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,939,759.20. The trade was a 13.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peabody Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC grew its stake in Peabody Energy by 9.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,897 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $183,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 7.6% in 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 last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 43.0% in 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 last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 11,390.0% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,149 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 69.7% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,802 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 1,151 shares during the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.