SunCoke Energy (NYSE:SXC) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of SunCoke Energy (NYSE:SXC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

SunCoke Energy Price Performance

Shares of SunCoke Energy stock opened at $8.68 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $729.90 million, a PE ratio of 12.23 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50 day moving average of $8.92 and a 200 day moving average of $9.89. SunCoke Energy has a 52 week low of $7.47 and a 52 week high of $11.85.

SunCoke Energy (NYSE:SXC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The energy company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $470.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $410.35 million. SunCoke Energy had a return on equity of 9.56% and a net margin of 3.11%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.24 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that SunCoke Energy will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

SunCoke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a $0.12 dividend. This is an increase from SunCoke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.53%. SunCoke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 67.61%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SunCoke Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SunCoke Energy in the second quarter worth $420,000. Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of SunCoke Energy by 28.5% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 55,905 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $548,000 after acquiring an additional 12,387 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SunCoke Energy in the second quarter worth $107,000. AXA S.A. grew its stake in shares of SunCoke Energy by 103.0% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 21,688 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $213,000 after acquiring an additional 11,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of SunCoke Energy by 111.3% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 176,260 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,729,000 after acquiring an additional 92,827 shares during the last quarter. 90.45% of the stock is 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.