Peabody Rises After Thomist Takes Stake, Suggests Buybacks

By Josh Saul

August 21, 2024 at 9:47AM EDT

A coal mound on the grounds of the Peabody Energy Francisco coal mine in Francisco, Indiana, U.S., on Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021. Coal is trading at sky-high levels, putting an industry benchmark on track to reach a record when it's published on Friday. Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg (Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- Peabody Energy Corp. rose more than 7 percent after Thomist Capital Management LP disclosed a 9.96 percent stake and urged the coal miner to buy back shares.

Thomist suggested to Peabody management that the company should use some of its $1.45 billion cash balance to repurchase stock, get more value out of its Powder River Basin assets, and sell a stake in its Centurion mine in Australia, according to a filing Tuesday. Peabody was up 7.4% to $24.22 at 9:38 a.m. in New York on Wednesday.

Peabody’s filing came as Arch Resources Inc. and Consol Energy Inc. agreed to combine in an all-stock merger to create Core Natural Resources, a producer and exporter of coal.