SunCoke Energy (NYSE:SXC) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

SunCoke Energy, Inc. (NYSE:SXC) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $9.93 and last traded at $9.8150, with a volume of 166865 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $9.69.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SXC. Wall Street Zen raised shares of SunCoke Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded SunCoke Energy from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $9.00.

SunCoke Energy Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $8.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.74. The company has a market cap of $830.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.29 and a beta of 0.98.

SunCoke Energy (NYSE:SXC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The energy company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $475.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $445.20 million. SunCoke Energy had a positive return on equity of 6.37% and a negative net margin of 2.88%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.02 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that SunCoke Energy, Inc. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

SunCoke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. SunCoke Energy’s payout ratio is -75.00%.

Institutional Trading of SunCoke Energy

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of SunCoke Energy by 544.8% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,992 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 2,528 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in SunCoke Energy by 69.4% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,831 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,569 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in SunCoke Energy during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in SunCoke Energy during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in SunCoke Energy by 176.2% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,615 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 3,582 shares during the period. 90.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About SunCoke Energy

SunCoke Energy, Inc is a leading independent producer of metallurgical coke and related products for the steel and foundry industries. The company specializes in manufacturing both blast furnace coke and foundry coke, offering high‐quality, low‐sulfur coal products that serve as essential inputs in steelmaking and metal casting processes. In addition to coke production, SunCoke provides comprehensive engineering, maintenance and environmental solutions tailored to the needs of integrated steel mills and foundries.

The company operates a network of coke production facilities across the United States, including plants in Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia and Louisiana.