Sectors & IndustriesBasic MaterialsThermal Coal

Best Coal Stocks to Buy Now (2026)

Top coal stocks in 2026 ranked by overall Zen Rating. "A" Rated stocks have returned an average of +32.52% per year, and are the best coal stocks to buy now. Learn More.

According to Zen Ratings, our proprietary rating system that evaluates 115 factors proven to drive growth in stocks and assigns each stock in our system an overall letter grade as well as 7 individual Component Grades for Value, Growth, Momentum, Sentiment, Safety, Financials, and proprietary AI algorithms, the 3 best coal mining stocks to buy right now are:

Alliance Resource Partners (NASDAQ:ARLP) is the #1 top coal stock out of 6 with a Zen Rating of C. Stocks with a rating of C have had an average return of +7.53% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Alliance Resource Partners (NASDAQ:ARLP) is: Value: B, Growth: D, Momentum: B, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: A, and AI: B.

Alliance Resource Partners (NASDAQ:ARLP) has a Due Diligence Score of 38, which is 10 points higher than the coal industry average of 28.

ARLP passed 13 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Alliance Resource Partners has seen its stock lose -0.27% over the past year, underperforming other coal stocks by -36 percentage points.

Natural Resource Partners (NYSE:NRP) is the #2 top coal stock out of 6 with a Zen Rating of C. Stocks with a rating of C have had an average return of +7.53% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Natural Resource Partners (NYSE:NRP) is: Value: B, Growth: F, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: A, and AI: C.

Natural Resource Partners (NYSE:NRP) has a Due Diligence Score of 37, which is 9 points higher than the coal industry average of 28.

NRP passed 13 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Natural Resource Partners has seen its stock return 32.79% over the past year, underperforming other coal stocks by -3 percentage points.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) is the #3 top coal stock out of 6 with a Zen Rating of C. Stocks with a rating of C have had an average return of +7.53% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) is: Value: C, Growth: D, Momentum: B, Sentiment: F, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) has a Due Diligence Score of 19, which is -9 points lower than the coal industry average of 28.

BTU passed 7 out of 38 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Peabody Energy has seen its stock return 151.91% over the past year, overperforming other coal stocks by 116 percentage points.

Peabody Energy has an average 1 year price target of $36.92, an upside of 30.49% from Peabody Energy's current stock price of $28.29.

Peabody Energy stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 6 analysts covering Peabody Energy, 66.67% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 33.33% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Out of 5 coal stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 coal stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Alliance Resource Partners (NASDAQ:ARLP) has an annual dividend yield of 9.51%, which is 6 percentage points higher than the coal industry average of 3.12%. Alliance Resource Partners's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% three times in the last 10 years. Alliance Resource Partners's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Alliance Resource Partners's dividend payout ratio of 104.2% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Natural Resource Partners (NYSE:NRP) has an annual dividend yield of 2.61%, which is -1 percentage points lower than the coal industry average of 3.12%. Natural Resource Partners's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% five times in the last 10 years. Natural Resource Partners's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Natural Resource Partners's dividend payout ratio of 41.4% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Nacco Industries (NYSE:NC) has an annual dividend yield of 1.98%, which is -1 percentage points lower than the coal industry average of 3.12%. Nacco Industries's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% one times in the last 10 years. Nacco Industries's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Nacco Industries's dividend payout ratio of 42.7% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Coal stocks were up 0.82% in the last day, and down -6.4% over the last week.

We couldn't find a catalyst for why coal stocks are up.

Based on the Valuation rating, one of the 7 components of a stocks overall Zen Ratings grade, which evaluates factors including estimated earnings yield, earnings before interest and taxes/enterprise value, cash flow yield, free cash flow to price, and price-to-earnings growth (PEG ratio), the 3 most undervalued coal stocks right now are:

Natural Resource Partners (NYSE:NRP) is the most undervalued coal stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Natural Resource Partners has a valuation score of 29, which is 3 points higher than the coal industry average of 26. It passed 2 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Natural Resource Partners's stock has gained 32.79% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the coal industry by -3 percentage points.

Alliance Resource Partners (NASDAQ:ARLP) is the second most undervalued coal stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Alliance Resource Partners has a valuation score of 29, which is 3 points higher than the coal industry average of 26. It passed 2 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Alliance Resource Partners's stock has dropped -0.27% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the coal industry by -36 percentage points.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) is the third most undervalued coal stock based on its Valuation Rating of C. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Peabody Energy has a valuation score of 14, which is -12 points higher than the coal industry average of 26. It passed 1 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Peabody Energy's stock has gained 151.91% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the coal industry by 116 percentage points.

66.67% of coal stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect coal stocks to rise by 29.99% over the next year.

0% of coal stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 0% of coal stocks are rated B (Buy), 66.67% are rated C (Hold), 33.33% are rated D (Sell), and 0% are rated F (Strong Sell).