Will President Trump’s Coal Executive Order Boost Energy Stocks?
President Donald Trump wants America to run on coal again. The President signed an executive order yesterday that seeks to increase coal mining in the U.S. That includes new leases covering millions of acres of public land.
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President Trump is also interested in using coal to power artificial intelligence (AI) data centers. His executive order instructs the Energy Department to work alongside other agencies to evaluate the possibility of using coal this way.
Will Energy Stocks Benefit from a Coal Resurgence?
Experts are skeptical that President Trump’s coal executive order will have the effect he hopes for. That’s due to market shifts that have moved energy companies away from coal for electricity generation. Instead, they’ve focused on cleaner resources, such as natural gas.
Rob Jackson, an environmental scientist at Stanford University and chair of the Global Carbon Project, spoke to ABC News about Trump’s new executive order. He told the outlet, “The Trump administration can’t force utilities to buy dirtier, more expensive fuels they don’t want” and that a “flurry of executive orders won’t save the coal industry.”
How Are Coal Stocks Reacting to the Executive Order?
Coal stock movement was mixed on Thursday, with companies reacting differently to President Trump’s executive order. For example, Alliance Resource (ARLP) and NACCO Industries (NC) jumped today, but Hallador Energy Company (HNRG), Natural Resource Partners (NRP), and Suncoke Energy (SXC) were down on Friday.
Of these stocks, HNRG, ARLP, and SXC have consensus Moderate Buy ratings, while NC and NRP lack significant analyst coverage, but both have Smart Scores of seven out of 10. SXC offers the best upside potential at 48.57%, followed by HNRG at 26.58% and ARLP at 14.02%.
