4-Star Stocks Poised to Pop: Peabody

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Based on the aggregated intelligence of 140,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, private-sector coal king Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU) has earned a respected four-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Peabody's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Peabody facts

Headquarters (Founded)

St. Louis (1883)

Market Cap

$11.16 billion

Industry

Coal and consumable fuels

Trailing-12-Month Revenue

$6.38 billion

Management

CEO Gregory Boyce (since 2006)
CFO Michael Crews (since 2008)

Return on Equity (Average, Past 3 Years)

26.3%

Cash / Debt

$790.8 million / $2.78 billion

Competitors

CONSOL Energy (NYSE: CNX)
Arch Coal (NYSE: ACI)
Massey Energy (NYSE: MEE)

CAPS Members Bullish on BTU Also Bullish on

Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK)
Transocean (NYSE: RIG)

CAPS Members Bearish on BTU Also Bearish on

PotashCorp (NYSE: POT)

Sources: Capital IQ (a division of Standard & Poor's) and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 96% of the 1,738 members who have rated Peabody believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include All-Star therailsplitter, who is ranked in the top 1% of our community, and michaeltbryant.

Earlier this year, therailsplitter tapped Peabody as the perfect way to bet on the black stuff:

This is a superb long-term play. … What better way to play the growing coal industry than the only U.S. pure-play coal company with exposure to China? As far as the rest is concerned, fundamentals are sound and management is solid as a rock.

In a more recent pitch, michaeltbryant also thinks old King Coal will continue to reign:

No matter how much you hate coal, prices are going to go up as supply goes down. Coal powers more than half our electricity. What about China? And India? And the rest of the developing world? Coal is still the cheapest source of energy. Developing countries need cheap energy. Yes, the developed world is going to green energy. Yes, Obama is against coal, according to Cramer. But does that erase the big picture: coal fuels the world.

What do you think about Peabody, or any other stock for that matter? Make your voice heard on Motley Fool CAPS today. The CAPS community is waiting to hear your opinions. CAPS is 100% free, so get started!

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Fool contributor Brian Pacampara owns no position in any of the companies mentioned. Chesapeake is a Motley Fool Inside Value pick, and the Fool owns shares of it. The Fool's disclosure policy always gets a perfect score.

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