SunCoke Energy (NYSE:SXC) Rating Reiterated by Benchmark

Benchmark reiterated their buy rating on shares of SunCoke Energy (NYSE:SXC) in a research note published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $12.00 price objective on the energy company’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded SunCoke Energy from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Monday, February 5th.

SunCoke Energy Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE SXC traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $10.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 672,411 shares, compared to its average volume of 639,475. The company has a current ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The business’s 50 day moving average is $10.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.30. SunCoke Energy has a 12-month low of $6.71 and a 12-month high of $11.48. The firm has a market cap of $866.81 million, a P/E ratio of 14.52 and a beta of 1.19.

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

SunCoke Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SXC. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in SunCoke Energy by 92.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,241,721 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $45,556,000 after buying an additional 2,033,058 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in SunCoke Energy by 93.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,146,422 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $11,636,000 after buying an additional 555,271 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in SunCoke Energy by 79.4% during the 3rd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,021,956 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $10,365,000 after buying an additional 452,261 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in SunCoke Energy by 270.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 400,784 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $4,069,000 after buying an additional 292,683 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management grew its stake in SunCoke Energy by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,049,517 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $22,012,000 after purchasing an additional 272,759 shares during the last quarter. 90.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.