Shareholders of Alpha Natural Resources (ANR) approved the company's $7.1 billion purchase of Massey Energy earlier this month. Though the deal makes Alpha one of the world's top producers of metallurgical coal and will likely improve the company's earnings powers, investors have a fair share of concerns.
Alpha has yet to overcome Massey's April 2010 mine explosion that killed 29 workers in West Virginia -- the deadliest U.S. mining disaster in decades. The company has come under fire recently for its decision to keep three Massey executives who were serving at the time of the accident.
Last month, Alpha also delivered a first-quarter profit that tripled from a year ago, but missed Wall Street's expectations. Still, analysts following the company are optimistic and maintain their 'buy' rating on the stock.
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