5 Most Profitable Small-Cap Stocks Now

In this article, we will look at the 5 most profitable small-cap stocks now. If you want to explore similar stocks, you can go to 15 Most Profitable Small-Cap Stocks Now.

5. CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE:CEIX)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 31

Net Income (TTM) as of December 31, 2022: $466.9 million

CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE:CEIX) is a leading manufacturer and exporter of bituminous coal. The company operates through two segments: Pennsylvania Mining Complex and CONSOL Marine Terminal. As of February 17, the stock has gained 87.26% over the past 12 months.

CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE:CEIX) is one of the most profitable small-cap stocks right now. On February 7, the company reported strong earnings for the fiscal fourth quarter of 2022. The company reported an EPS of $3.88 and outperformed EPS consensus by $0.47. For fiscal 2022, CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE:CEIX) generated a net income of $466.9 million, up from $34.1 million in fiscal 2021.

At the end of the third quarter of 2022, 31 hedge funds were eager on CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE:CEIX) and held collective stakes of $360.6 million in the company. As of December 31, David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital is the most prominent investor in the company and has a position worth $117.8 million.

Here is what Greenlight Capital had to say about CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE:CEIX) in its fourth-quarter 2022 investor letter:

“As CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE:CEIX) rode a surge in coal prices, the shares soared from $22.71 to $65.00 and the company paid $2.05 per share in dividends. In 2022, part of the higher coal prices were absorbed by hedges and forward contracts at what turned out to be below-market prices. Even so, we believe the company ended the year with no net debt. From here, with the below market contracts mostly behind, we expect the higher prices to translate directly into much higher earnings, with most of the free cash flow to be returned to shareholders. Much of the pricing in 2023 and some of the pricing in 2024 is locked in. As a result, we believe that the company will generate free cash flow over the next two years equal to its current market capitalization. While thermal coal will probably never be cool to own, we believe the returns for owning CEIX should continue to be hot.”