Last year was not very fun for coal investors. Luckily, CONSOL Energy (CNX -0.63%) has made alternative investments other than naming the home arena for the Pittsburgh Penguins. The leading diversified energy producer in the Appalachian Basin has invested heavily in natural gas in the Marcellus Shale and unconventional gas production from coal bed methane. Additionally, the majority of its coal reserves are of the cleaner-burning, high-BTU variety.
Despite the recent dive in share price, things are looking up for CONSOL. It is increasing capital expenditures in natural gas by 77% in 2013, maintaining its share in the American coal market, and continuing to upgrade its transportation infrastructure. The company also had a decent 2012, producing 56 million tons of high-BTU coal and 156.3 billion cubic feet equivalent of natural gas. The association with coal may cause some hesitation still. So, should you add CONSOL to your portfolio? Fool.com contributor Maxx Chatsko analyzes the situation in the following video.
