Short Interest in SunCoke Energy, Inc. (NYSE:SXC) Drops By 21.4%

SunCoke Energy, Inc. (NYSE:SXC) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,750,000 shares, a decline of 21.4% from the October 31st total of 3,500,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,070,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days.

SunCoke Energy Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of SunCoke Energy stock traded down $0.02 on Friday, hitting $12.46. 541,043 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 894,856. SunCoke Energy has a one year low of $7.47 and a one year high of $12.82. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $10.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a PE ratio of 12.46 and a beta of 1.02.

SunCoke Energy (NYSE:SXC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $490.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $412.70 million. SunCoke Energy had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 4.37%. SunCoke Energy’s revenue was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.08 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that SunCoke Energy will post 1.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SunCoke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. SunCoke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 48.00%.

Institutional Trading of SunCoke Energy

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of SunCoke Energy by 1.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,843,301 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $77,124,000 after acquiring an additional 77,649 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in shares of SunCoke Energy by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 78,993 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $889,000 after purchasing an additional 7,496 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of SunCoke Energy by 6.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 62,728 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $707,000 after purchasing an additional 3,570 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its position in shares of SunCoke Energy by 2.6% during the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 99,682 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,123,000 after buying an additional 2,539 shares during the period. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of SunCoke Energy by 1.6% during the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 92,532 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $907,000 after buying an additional 1,464 shares in the last quarter. 90.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on SXC shares. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $13.00 price objective on shares of SunCoke Energy in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com upgraded SunCoke Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th.

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.