SunCoke Energy (NYSE:SXC) Shares Down 11.2%

SunCoke Energy, Inc. (NYSE:SXC)’s stock price dropped 11.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $10.36 and last traded at $10.39. Approximately 637,357 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 11% from the average daily volume of 712,849 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.70.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of SunCoke Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 4th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $12.00 target price on shares of SunCoke Energy in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd.

SunCoke Energy Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $871.81 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.61 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $10.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

SunCoke Energy (NYSE:SXC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The energy company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.03. SunCoke Energy had a return on equity of 9.48% and a net margin of 2.97%. The business had revenue of $470.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $410.35 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.24 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that SunCoke Energy, Inc. will post 0.9 EPS for the current year.

SunCoke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.63%. This is an increase from SunCoke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. SunCoke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.34%.

Insider Activity at SunCoke Energy

In other news, CTO John F. Quanci sold 4,532 shares of SunCoke Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.67, for a total transaction of $48,356.44. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 19,922 shares in the company, valued at $212,567.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SunCoke Energy

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SXC. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in SunCoke Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $245,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in SunCoke Energy in the second quarter valued at about $70,000. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in SunCoke Energy by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 92,532 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $907,000 after purchasing an additional 1,464 shares in the last quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in SunCoke Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $414,000. Finally, EMC Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of SunCoke Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $216,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.