SunCoke Energy (NYSE:SXC) Hits New 52-Week High on Strong Earnings

SunCoke Energy, Inc. (NYSE:SXC) shares hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $11.12 and last traded at $10.86, with a volume of 151,686 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.81.

The energy company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $485.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $456.55 million. SunCoke Energy had a positive return on equity of 6.37% and a negative net margin of 2.88%. The business’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.26 EPS.

SunCoke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. SunCoke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently -75.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SXC. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of SunCoke Energy from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Wall Street Zen raised SunCoke Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SXC. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of SunCoke Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $72,643,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in SunCoke Energy by 1.3% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,410,182 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $35,222,000 after purchasing an additional 68,996 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of SunCoke Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $7,359,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in SunCoke Energy during the second quarter valued at about $6,614,000. Finally, Readystate Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in SunCoke Energy during the second quarter worth about $5,038,000. 90.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SunCoke Energy Trading Up 11.0%

The stock has a market capitalization of $924.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.95 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $9.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 1.37.

About SunCoke Energy

SunCoke Energy, Inc (NYSE:SXC) is a producer of metallurgical coke, a carbon-based fuel and reducing agent used in blast-furnace steelmaking. The company converts coal into coke through high-temperature processing and captures the resulting heat to generate energy, which can support its facilities and be sold to customers.

SunCoke operates coke-making facilities and related coal-handling, storage and logistics assets, primarily serving integrated steel producers in the United States. Its operations are designed to provide customers with a consistent supply of coke while also generating electricity and recovering other byproducts from the coke-production process.

The company was separated from Sunoco and became a publicly traded company in 2011.