SunCoke Energy (NYSE:SXC) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

SunCoke Energy (NYSE:SXC) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

Separately, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $12.00 price objective on shares of SunCoke Energy in a report on Thursday.

SunCoke Energy Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE:SXC traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $10.29. The company had a trading volume of 672,411 shares, compared to its average volume of 822,609. SunCoke Energy has a 12-month low of $6.71 and a 12-month high of $11.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $865.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.49 and a beta of 1.19. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.30.

SunCoke Energy (NYSE:SXC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The energy company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $488.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $549.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.19 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that SunCoke Energy will post 0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at SunCoke Energy

In other news, CEO Michael G. Rippey sold 78,714 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.06, for a total transaction of $870,576.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,359 shares in the company, valued at $3,786,490.54. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other SunCoke Energy news, CEO Michael G. Rippey sold 48,618 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael G. Rippey sold 78,714 shares of SunCoke Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.06, for a total transaction of $870,576.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,786,490.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 251,572 shares of company stock worth $2,781,834. Company insiders own 1.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SunCoke Energy

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

SunCoke Energy Company Profile

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.