4 Reasons Why You Should Add CONSOL Energy To Your Portfolio

Earnings estimates for CONSOL Energy Inc (NYSE:CNX). (NYSE:CEIX) have been revised upward in the past 30 days, reflecting analysts' optimism in the stock. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2019 and 2020 earnings has moved up 1.6% and 8.1% to $3.86 and $3.33, respectively.

Let’s focus on the factors that make CONSOL Energy a profitable pick.

Earnings & Surprise History

In fourth-quarter 2018, CONSOL Energy delivered earnings of $1.41 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 76 cents by 85.5%. The company delivered average positive earnings surprise of 53.86% in the trailing three quarters.

Price Performance

Shares of CONSOL Energy have rallied 17.9% in the past 12 months, against the industry’s decline of 16.1%.

Zacks Rank & VGM Score

The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and an impressive VGM Score of A. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Here V stands for Value, G for Growth and M for Momentum with the score being a weighted combination of all three factors. Back testing results show that stocks with a favorable VGM Score of A or B coupled with a bullish Zacks Rank are the best investment options.

Coal Production

Coal production was 6.8 million tons in the fourth quarter of 2018, up from 6.2 million tons in the year-ago quarter. The Pennsylvania Mining Complex (PAMC) achieved record production of 27.6 million tons in 2018, up from 26.1 million tons in 2017. The company’s coal production increased, which met higher domestic and international demand. We believe that recent improvements in the coal markets will help CONSOL Energy deliver better results.

Recent Coal Releases

Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. (NASDAQ:ARLP) delivered fourth-quarter 2018 operating earnings of 69 cents per unit, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 74 cents by 6.8%.

Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) posted fourth-quarter 2018 operating earnings of 88 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 68 cents by 29.41%.

CONSOL Coal Resources LP (NYSE:CCR) posted fourth-quarter 2018 operating earnings of 59 cents per unit, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 49 cents by 22.92%.

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