SunCoke Energy (NYSE:SXC) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of SunCoke Energy (NYSE:SXC) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report published on Friday.

Separately, Benchmark reiterated a buy rating and issued a $12.00 target price on shares of SunCoke Energy in a research note on Thursday.

SunCoke Energy Price Performance

Shares of SXC opened at $10.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 2.06. The firm has a market cap of $866.76 million, a PE ratio of 14.52 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $10.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.31. SunCoke Energy has a twelve month low of $6.71 and a twelve month high of $11.48.

SunCoke Energy (NYSE:SXC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The energy company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.01. SunCoke Energy had a net margin of 2.97% and a return on equity of 9.48%. The business had revenue of $488.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $549.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.19 EPS. SunCoke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that SunCoke Energy will post 0.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SunCoke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. SunCoke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 56.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michael G. Rippey sold 122,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.11, for a total transaction of $1,361,341.63. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 521,073 shares in the company, valued at $5,789,121.03. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other SunCoke Energy news, CEO Michael G. Rippey sold 122,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.11, for a total value of $1,361,341.63. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 521,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,789,121.03. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Michael G. Rippey sold 48,618 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.93, for a total transaction of $531,394.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 763,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,344,060.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 251,572 shares of company stock worth $2,781,834 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SunCoke Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of SunCoke Energy by 19.7% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 115,571 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,302,000 after purchasing an additional 19,020 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in SunCoke Energy by 130.5% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 114,779 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,294,000 after acquiring an additional 64,978 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of SunCoke Energy in the first quarter worth about $872,000. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of SunCoke Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $174,000. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of SunCoke Energy by 9.9% during the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 57,945 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $653,000 after purchasing an additional 5,210 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.45% of the company’s stock.

About SunCoke Energy

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.