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

SunCoke Energy, Inc. (NYSE:SXC) saw a significant decrease in short interest in 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 trading volume of 1,070,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on SXC. StockNews.com raised SunCoke Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $13.00 price objective on shares of SunCoke Energy in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th.

SunCoke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SXC traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $12.46. 541,043 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 894,856. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 2.22. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $10.11 and its 200 day moving average is $9.77. SunCoke Energy has a 1-year low of $7.47 and a 1-year high of $12.82. The stock has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.46 and a beta of 1.02.

SunCoke Energy (NYSE:SXC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $0.36 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 firm had revenue of $490.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $412.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.08 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that SunCoke Energy will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SunCoke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.85%. SunCoke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SunCoke Energy

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. nVerses Capital LLC boosted its holdings in SunCoke Energy by 488.9% during the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 5,300 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 4,400 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in SunCoke Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $70,000. Optas LLC bought a new stake in SunCoke Energy in the third quarter valued at $88,000. Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in SunCoke Energy during the second quarter worth $107,000. Finally, Retirement Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of SunCoke Energy during the second quarter valued at $110,000. 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.