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

Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) saw a significant growth in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 20,230,000 shares, a growth of 15.9% from the September 15th total of 17,460,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,740,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.4 days.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BTU traded up $0.26 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $25.68. 1,383,031 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,026,414. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.21. The company has a market capitalization of $3.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.15 and a beta of 0.96. Peabody Energy has a 52-week low of $20.21 and a 52-week high of $27.24. 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 (NYSE:BTU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The coal producer reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.90. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. Peabody Energy had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 15.35%. Equities research analysts forecast that Peabody Energy will post 2.98 EPS for the current year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is 8.36%.

Institutional Trading of Peabody Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BTU. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,139 shares during the last quarter. Natixis boosted its position in Peabody Energy by 8,355.0% during the 1st quarter. Natixis now owns 1,691 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 1,671 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Peabody Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $44,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 292.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,057 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 1,533 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the second quarter valued at about $78,000. Institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BTU has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. B. Riley increased their target price on Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th.

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.