StockNews.com Lowers SunCoke Energy (NYSE:SXC) to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of SunCoke Energy (NYSE:SXC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Friday.

SunCoke Energy Stock Performance

SXC opened at $8.68 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $729.90 million, a PE ratio of 12.23 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 2.22. SunCoke Energy has a 52-week low of $7.47 and a 52-week high of $11.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $8.97 and a 200-day moving average of $9.90.

SunCoke Energy (NYSE:SXC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The energy company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $470.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $410.35 million. SunCoke Energy had a return on equity of 9.56% and a net margin of 3.11%. SunCoke Energy’s revenue was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.24 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that SunCoke Energy will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SunCoke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.53%. This is a positive change from SunCoke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. SunCoke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.61%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SXC. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in shares of SunCoke Energy by 84.6% in the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 724,886 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $8,169,000 after purchasing an additional 332,197 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in SunCoke Energy by 13.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,512,292 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $24,620,000 after acquiring an additional 292,050 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in SunCoke Energy by 50.5% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 453,087 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $5,106,000 after buying an additional 152,002 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in SunCoke Energy by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,708,272 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $46,141,000 after acquiring an additional 139,971 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in SunCoke Energy by 111.3% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 176,260 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,729,000 after purchasing an additional 92,827 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.45% of the company’s stock.

SunCoke Energy Company Profile

SunCoke Energy, Inc operates as an independent producer of coke in the Americas and Brazil. The company operates through three segments: Domestic Coke, Brazil Coke, and Logistics. It offers metallurgical and thermal coal. The company also provides handling and/or mixing services to steel, coke, electric utility, coal producing, and other manufacturing based customers.