Energy stocks had their day in the sun. Well, it was more like year in the sun. The energy sector was, by far, the best performing sector in the market. We are talking about returns over 65% for the year. Astronomical measures when it comes to sector performance.

This year hasn’t been the same. That’s why today’s Bear of the Day is Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell)  Peabody Energy ((BTU Quick QuoteBTU - Free Report) ). Peabody Energy Corporation is the largest private-sector coal company in the world. Its primary business lies in the mining, sale, and distribution of coal, which is used in electricity generation and steelmaking. Peabody's coal products fuel approximately 10% of all U.S. electricity generation and 2% of worldwide electricity.

Peabody owes its Zacks Rank to the fact that analysts have recently come out and dropped their earnings estimates for both the current year and next year. The bearish moves have cut our Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year from $6.83 to $5.63 while next year’s number is off from $3.79 to $2.98. That means that the company is forecast to see earnings contract by 36.67% this year and 47.16% next year.

The Coal industry is scraping barrel bottom in the Bottom 2% of our Zacks Industry Rank. There are no stocks within this industry that are in the good graces of our Zacks Rank. There are, however, a few stocks which are currently Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stocks. These include Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) SunCoke Energy ((SXC Quick QuoteSXC - Free Report) ) and Warrior Met Coal ((HCC Quick QuoteHCC - Free Report) ).