Peabody Energy’s Prospects Darkening on Outlook for Coal

This article was originally published by TheStreet on October 30, 2014

By Sarfaraz A. Khan

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Peabody Energy (BTU) , the world's largest private-sector coal company, sees a light at the end of the coal tunnel but analysts and the latest economic data from China aren't as optimistic.

The St. Louis-based company released third-quarter results last week and coal sales volume and revenue dropped by 10% and 4% to 62.5 million tons and $1.72 billion, respectively. Worse, the company reported a loss from continuing operations of $154 million compared with income of $24 million in the same period last year.

Update: Peabody Energy Raises Earnings Guidance But China Remains A Major Concern

This article was originally published by Seeking Alpha on Sep. 26

By Sarfaraz A. Khan

Summary: Peabody Energy has recently increased the guidance of its Q3 EBITDA but latest data points towards deterioration in metallurgical and thermal coal prices. The latest data confirms my opinion that a meaningful recovery in coal prices is a distant dream. As anticipated in the original article, weak economic numbers from China continue to hit coal prices and Peabody Energy's shares.

It's Not Peabody Energy's Fault

This article was originally published by Seeking Alpha on September 22, 2014

By Sarfaraz A. Khan

Summary: Peabody Energy’s shares have dropped to 52-week lows. Several analysts have recently downgraded the stock, citing identical reasons. Are there any signs of improvements in market conditions?

Peabody Energy Is Still Mining for a Positive Long-Term Outlook

This article was originally published by TheStreet on July 25, 2014

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Peabody Energy (BTU_) released its quarterly results this week, managing to beat analysts' earnings estimate and painting a rosy outlook for the long term. But investors might still want to steer clear of this stock.

 

[image source: http://www.peabodyenergy.com/]

This is because Peabody Energy, the world's largest coal producer in the private sector, might continue to struggle as the current weakness in coal prices, currently at six-year lows, is expected to persist throughout the next couple of years. Moreover, the latest move by Obama administration to cut carbon emissions could further exacerbate the already tough business environment.