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This news article originally provided by The Houston Chronicle Ahead of the Bell: Peabody Energy Rises © 2007 The Associated PressNEW YORK — A Friedman Billings Ramsey analyst upgraded shares of Peabody Energy Corp. on Monday, saying a judge's ruling blocking permits for a rival to mine coal in Central Appalachia will drive coal prices higher. Last month, U.S. District Judge Robert Chambers revoked four permits that allowed Massey Energy Co. to mine coal from mountaintops in Central Appalachia. The judge ruled the engineers that studied the sites failed to prove the mines wouldn't harm the environment. Last week, the judge blocked two new permits on the same basis. Friedman Billings Ramsey analyst David M. Khani said the blocked permits add to a union strike, a mine closure and a severe blizzard that forced a work stoppage last month as factors that will propel coal prices. Khani upgraded Peabody Energy to "Outperform" from "Market Perform." He said if there is less coal production in Central Appalachia, buyers will turn to coal from other sources, such as the Powder River Basin. He raised his price target on the St. Louis, Mo.-based coal miner's stock to $70 from $68. Peabody Energy's stock, which rose 8 percent last week to close at $43.74 Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange, gained 76 cents in premarket trading to $44.50. With $5.3 billion in sales last year, Peabody operates 40 coal mines in the U.S. and Australia.
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