Hedge Funds Staying on Sidelines when It Comes to Coal Stocks

#2. Westmoreland Coal Company (NASDAQ:WLB)

– Investors with long positions as of March 31: 14

– Aggregate value of investors’ holdings as of March 31: $195.90 Million

Westmoreland Coal Company (NASDAQ:WLB) fell out of favor with the segment of the hedge fund industry monitored by our team, as the number of funds from our system with stakes in the company dropped to 14 from 18 quarter-over-quarter. Nonetheless, the value of those funds’ stakes spiked to $195.90 million from a mere $43.63 million quarter-over-quarter, partially owing to a 22% jump in the value of Westmoreland’s shares. The stock is 65% in the green so far this year and down by 64% in the past 12 months. The oldest independent coal company in the U.S. operates surface coal mines in the United States and Canada, underground coal mines in Ohio and New Mexico, a char production facility, as well as a 50% interest in an activated carbon plan. In late January, one of Westmoreland Coal’s subsidiaries acquired San Juan Coal Company, which operates the San Juan mine and San Juan Transportation Company, for roughly $127 million in cash. Nathaniel August’s Mangrove Partners has 1.89 million shares of Westmoreland Coal Company (NASDAQ:WLB) in its portfolio as of March 31.

#1. SunCoke Energy Inc. (NYSE:SXC)

– Investors with long positions as of March 31: 20

– Aggregate value of investors’ holdings as of March 31: $138.29 Million

SunCoke Energy Inc. (NYSE:SXC) has received some love from the hedge funds followed by our team, with the number of funds invested in the company increasing to 20 from 17 during the first quarter of 2016. Correspondingly, the overall value of those funds’ equity investment in SunCoke rose by 61% quarter-over-quarter to $138.29 million, mainly due to an 87% price appreciation of SunCoke shares. To that end, some of those 20 asset managers invested in SunCoke Energy, who aggregately amassed 33% of the company’s total number of outstanding shares, were actually reducing their exposure to the company. The largest independent producer of high-quality coke in the U.S. has seen its shares gain 86% since the beginning of 2016. The company’s revenues for the first quarter of 2016 decreased 4.0% year-over-year to $311.1 million, mainly due to the pass-through of lower coal prices. D.E. Shaw & Co. L.P., founded by David E. Shaw, owns 2.63 million shares of SunCoke Energy Inc. (NYSE:SXC) as of the end of March.

Disclosure: None