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7 Energy Stocks That Investors Have All Wrong (Update1)

Written by: Frank Byrt 03/30/12 - 11:19 AM EDT
Tickers in this article: NEE BTU URS EXC TRP ENB ANR
(Story updated to add that Enbridge confirmed its planned expansion of two major oil pipelines from Canada to the Gulf Coast.)

BOSTON (TheStreet) -- There's a shift in U.S. power-production resources from coal to natural gas. But don't write King Coal's obituary just yet.

And, on the other side of the equation, stronger demand for natural gas has created new investment opportunities, as seen by the jump in exploration-and-production stocks. But some of the best returns may eventually come from transportation and storage.

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Coal shares have slipped across the board in recent days in the wake of a report that U.S. power plants are consuming about 22% less coal than last year, hurt by a warmer winter. And then on Tuesday, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed its first-ever standards to cut carbon dioxide emissions from new power plants, which is a blow for coal and a plus for plants fired by natural gas as they have low emissions.

Industry bellwether and the world's biggest coal producer, Peabody Energy(BTU) , fell to a 52-week low this week and is down 58% over the past 12 months. Others in the industry have been hit hard as well.