Cloud Peak Energy Inc. will be removed from the S&P SmallCap 600 prior to the opening of trading Jan. 3, 2019.

The pure-play Powder River Basin coal mining company is ranked near the bottom of the S&P Dow Jones Indices' index and is no longer representative of the small-cap marketplace, S&P Global Inc. said in a news release Dec. 20. Cloud Peak's stock price has been sliding throughout the year, closing at just 48 cents per share Dec. 20.

In mid-November, the company announced it had engaged a financial adviser and legal counsel to start a review of strategic alternatives, including a potential sale of the company. Cloud Peak is one of the few large, publicly held U.S. coal companies to avoid a bankruptcy reorganization in recent years but has been challenged by low prices for the domestic thermal coal it mines and operational challenges at its operations.

Cloud Peak and apparel retailer Francesca's Holdings Corp., also ranked at the bottom of the index, will be replaced by Care.com Inc. and Arlo Technologies Inc.