Buy Into Coal's 'Super Cycle' With MLPs

By David White:Peabody Energy’s (BTU) chairman and CEO, Gregory Boyce, stated in June 2010, “I believe we are in the early stages of a long-term super cycle for coal.” Boyce pointed out that coal had been the world’s fastest-growing fuel over the last decade.

By Colin Lokey:Walter Energy (WLT) produces and exports metallurgical, or 'coking coal', which is used to forge steel. The company's product is great for steelmakers due to its above average purity and high heat rate. Kieth Calder, CEO for only three months, recently announced he would step down because his 'management philosophy' conflicted with that of the board of directors.

David White submits:If you believe in the global growth story, you probably believe materials stocks will be a consistent growth story for many years. I do. Still, you want to find good investments even in this high growth sector. BHP and WLT have solid fundamentals. They have both made recent acquisitions that should help them continue rapid growth.

Stone Fox Capital submits:Anybody not under a rock that follows the financial world has heard about the proposed plans in Australia to tax mining profits by 40%. Not but a few weeks old and we've already seen several signs of the unintended consequences of the taxes. First, the BHP Biliton (BHP) CEO discussed the likelihood of putting projects on hold.

By Vladimir Zernov:Walter Energy (WLT) is a metallurgical coal producer that has been severely punished this year. The stock is down more than 51% year-to-date. WLT has significantly underperformed its peers in 2013.

By Vladimir Zernov:Walter Energy (WLT) is a producer and exporter of metallurgical coal (also known as coking coal) for the metallurgical industry. Recent times have been hard for the company and its stock.

BySmart Equity : The earnings release by Peabody Energy (BTU) today helped me reinforce my long-term bullish thesis on the coal players with a relatively high thermal coal exposure. It also helped me to decide about avoiding stocks with high metallurgical coal exposure. I recommend a long position in BTU and its peer, CONSOL Energy (CNX).

By Peter Epstein:I've written 10 articles on the coal sector in February. A common theme throughout is that earnings estimates for 2012 and 2013 are at risk. I backed this up with quotes from industry consultants and company executives and a warning on the implications of the imminent benchmark coking coal settlement. With both coal prices and coal company stocks lower, I recommend further caution.