SunCoke Energy (NYSE:SXC) Shares Up 7% – Here’s Why

SunCoke Energy, Inc. (NYSE:SXC) traded up 7% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $6.44 and last traded at $6.4850. 213,403 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 1,811,886 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.06.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on SXC. Weiss Ratings lowered SunCoke Energy from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. B. Riley Financial decreased their price target on SunCoke Energy from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, SunCoke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $9.00.

SunCoke Energy Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $7.08 and a 200-day moving average of $7.34. The company has a market cap of $559.25 million, a P/E ratio of -12.72 and a beta of 0.99.

SunCoke Energy (NYSE:SXC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The energy company reported ($1.00) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($1.10). The firm had revenue of $480.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $437.45 million. SunCoke Energy had a positive return on equity of 7.43% and a negative net margin of 2.41%.The business’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.28 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that SunCoke Energy, Inc. will post 0.71 EPS for the current year.

SunCoke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. SunCoke Energy’s payout ratio is currently -92.31%.

Insider Transactions at SunCoke Energy

In other SunCoke Energy news, CFO Mark W. Marinko purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $5.84 per share, with a total value of $58,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 71,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $419,300.32. This trade represents a 16.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Phillip Michael Hardesty bought 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $5.83 per share, for a total transaction of $72,875.00. Following the purchase, the senior vice president directly owned 298,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,741,286.91. The trade was a 4.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of SXC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in SunCoke Energy by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,024,864 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $50,579,000 after buying an additional 33,535 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of SunCoke Energy by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,868,796 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $31,569,000 after purchasing an additional 259,727 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in SunCoke Energy by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,663,161 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $19,175,000 after purchasing an additional 261,400 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of SunCoke Energy by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,238,567 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $16,120,000 after buying an additional 19,084 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in SunCoke Energy by 30.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,153,408 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $15,505,000 after buying an additional 503,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.45% of the company’s stock.

SunCoke Energy Company Profile

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.