People watch stocks for different reasons -- they're waiting for a dip in price, watching for a specific catalyst, gathering all the news and information that might affect stocks they already own, or considering a sell. Regardless of their motivation, we can better understand market sentiment by seeing who's watching what. With the Fool's free My Watchlist service, we have tens of thousands of people telling us the businesses that have, for whatever reason, piqued their interest.

The most-watched coal stock is...
Looking at the aggregate data, we see that Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU) is above the rest in terms of watch interest, the percentage of people keeping an eye on coal stocks in general who are specifically watching each company. And for good reason. As CAPS player blackarrow1969 wrote in May:

China and India will be needing plenty of coal. Peabody Energy is the largest private-sector coal company in the world, with plenty of export capability to fulfill these and other needs.

Here are the rest of the 10 most-watched companies in the industry with their watch interest along with the stocks' CAPS rating to show the sentiment of our investing community.

 

Company

Market Cap (in millions)

CAPS Rating (out of 5)

Watch Interest

1

Peabody Energy

$15,659

****

18.7%

2

Alpha Natural Resources (NYSE: ANR)

$9,798

****

15.6%

3

Alliance Resource Partners LP (Nasdaq: ARLP)

$2,832

*****

8.2%

4

Patriot Coal (NYSE: PCX)

$2,007

****

8.1%

5

Puda Coal (Nasdaq: PUDA)

$180

*

7.4%

6

Walter Energy (NYSE: WLT)

$6,920

****

7.2%

7

L & L Energy (Nasdaq: LLEN)

$167

**

6.6%

8

CONSOL Energy

$11,049

****

4.8%

9

Cloud Peak Energy

$1,279

*****

4.8%

10

Ivanhoe Mines

$16,463

**

3.4%

Sources: Motley Fool, Motley Fool CAPS.

Whether you're keeping an eye on the industry stalwarts like Peabody Energy or are watching an up-and-comer like L & L Energy, it pays to watch. We can help you keep tabs on your companies with My Watchlist, our free, personalized stock tracking service. Click here to start now.