SunCoke Energy, Inc. (NYSE:SXC) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on SXC. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $13.00 price target on shares of SunCoke Energy in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com raised SunCoke Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th.

SunCoke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE SXC opened at $12.48 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $9.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.74. SunCoke Energy has a 12-month low of $7.47 and a 12-month high of $12.82. The company has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.48 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

SunCoke Energy (NYSE:SXC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.14. SunCoke Energy had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 4.37%. The business had revenue of $490.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $412.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that SunCoke Energy will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current year.

SunCoke Energy Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SXC. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of SunCoke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,470,000. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in SunCoke Energy by 450.3% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 665,054 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $5,773,000 after purchasing an additional 544,194 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in SunCoke Energy by 13.2% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,512,292 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $24,620,000 after purchasing an additional 292,050 shares during the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of SunCoke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,926,000. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of SunCoke Energy by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,848,334 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $42,084,000 after purchasing an additional 163,839 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.45% of the company’s stock.

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.