Sep 27, 2023

keni1/iStock via Getty Images Warrior Met Coal (NYSE: HCC ) +8.3%, Alpha Metallurgical Resources (NYSE: AMR ) +5%, Ramaco Resources (NASDAQ: METC ) +12.6%, Arch Resources ( ARCH ) +4.8% and Consol Energy ( CEIX ) +4% in Wednesday's trading, all rallying to new 52-week highs, as B Riley analyst Lucas Pipes raises his stock price targets for several coal producers in the wake of a sustained rally in prices for the commodity. Australian met coal benchmark prices jumped 3% last week to close at $342.25, which Pipes said marks "the eighth consecutive week on our records that the benchmark has risen... widely attributed to active spot demand from India and China, exacerbated by a supply scare for high-quality Australian material." Pipes raised his estimate for Australian benchmark coal to $240/metric ton from $193/ton on average in 2024, while upward revisions to cost assumptions across the board are more than offset by sustained higher prices in the quarters ahead. The analyst raised stock price targets for Warrior Met Coal ( HCC ) to $67 from $55 previously, Alpha Metallurgical Resources ( AMR ) to $254 from $199, Ramaco Resources ( METC ) to $15 from $11, Arch Resources ( ARCH ) to $197 from $195, and Peabody Energy ( BTU ) to $32 from $25; Pipes has Buy ratings for all five names. Pipes believes Teck Resources ( TECK ) is best positioned to capture the higher prices in the Pacific Basin; he rates the stock a Buy and raised his PT to $78 from $66.