SunCoke Energy (NYSE:SXC) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of SunCoke Energy (NYSE:SXC) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning.

Separately, Benchmark reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $12.00 target price on shares of SunCoke Energy in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd.

SunCoke Energy Stock Performance

SunCoke Energy stock opened at $9.59 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $10.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $806.28 million, a PE ratio of 13.51 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 2.06. SunCoke Energy has a one year low of $7.51 and a one year high of $11.48.

SunCoke Energy (NYSE:SXC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The energy company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $488.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $549.40 million. SunCoke Energy had a return on equity of 9.48% and a net margin of 2.97%. SunCoke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.19 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that SunCoke Energy will post 0.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SunCoke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. SunCoke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SunCoke Energy

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of SunCoke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. AJOVista LLC acquired a new position in shares of SunCoke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $77,000. Evergreen Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of SunCoke Energy during the third quarter valued at $103,000. Optas LLC acquired a new position in shares of SunCoke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $108,000. Finally, Navellier & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of SunCoke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $112,000. 90.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.