Short Interest in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) Declines By 5.2%

Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 16,330,000 shares, a drop of 5.2% from the July 31st total of 17,230,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,410,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.8 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, B. Riley increased their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BTU. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Peabody Energy by 11,390.0% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,149 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,139 shares during the last quarter. Natixis raised its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 8,355.0% in the first quarter. Natixis now owns 1,691 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,671 shares during the last quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 48,475.0% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,943 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,939 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Peabody Energy during the second quarter worth $78,000. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Peabody Energy Stock Down 0.5 %

Peabody Energy stock opened at $22.03 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.80 billion, a PE ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $22.69 and its 200 day moving average is $23.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Peabody Energy has a 12-month low of $20.26 and a 12-month high of $27.24.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The coal producer reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.90. Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 15.35% and a net margin of 12.69%. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Peabody Energy will post 3.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.36%.

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.