Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) shares have been resilient in what has been a down year for ASX energy shares.
The S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) is down roughly 3% year to date.
Meanwhile, Whitehaven Coal shares have risen almost 11%.
Broker Macquarie has issued an updated analysis on the Australia-based coal miner.
Here's how it views Whitehaven Coal shares.
Resilient production
Macquarie said the 1QFY26 results were resilient considering the wet weather across both NSW and QLD.
The broker also noted ROM coal production was in-line, which given the wet weather production (ROM was down 15% QoQ and 7% YoY) was a good result considering guidance has been maintained.
Whitehaven has produced 23% of its ROM guidance midpoint and 25% of its managed coal guidance midpoint and will need a typical 2QFY26 and 4QFY26 to offset QLD's typical wet March Quarter.
Despite the positive sentiment around the company's resilient production, the broker also noted realised prices of A$200/t were 10% below VA consensus and 6% lower than Macquarie's forecasts.
The 1QFY26 result was resilient considering the wet-weather impact with a small miss in production (-3%) offset by a small beat in sales (+3%). Price realisations missed by 5%. Despite low pricing, we see spot upside on higher thermal prices versus MQe.
Trimmed target for Whitehaven Coal shares
Included in today's report was a revised price target. The broker trimmed its target price by 3% to $7, to go along with a neutral rating.
At the time of writing, Whitehaven Coal shares are trading for approximately $6.90.
Based on this target, it appears the broker sees these energy shares as trading close to fair value.
Elsewhere, other valuations from experts indicate a similar sentiment.
Bell Potter released a report yesterday (Sunday), also with an adjusted price target of $7. It also had a hold recommendation.
Online brokerage platform lists the company as trading close to fair value (5% under).
TradingView has a 12-month target price of $7.25.
