SunCoke Energy, Inc. (NYSE:SXC) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest plunged 54.4% in March to 2,553,552 shares (~3.1% of shares short) with a short-interest ratio of 0.8 days, signaling a large reduction in bearish positioning.
• Insiders bought stock in late February (CFO Mark Marinko: 10,000 shares at $5.84; SVP Phillip Hardesty: 12,500 shares at $5.83), and institutional investors now own about 90.45% of the company.
• SunCoke pays a 7.6% dividend (quarterly $0.12) but recently reported a ($1.00) EPS loss versus a $0.10 estimate and a negative net margin, underscoring income appeal amid operational weakness.

SunCoke Energy, Inc. (NYSE:SXC - Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 2,553,552 shares, a drop of 54.4% from the March 15th total of 5,598,652 shares. Approximately 3.1% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 3,135,822 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.8 days.

Insider Transactions at SunCoke Energy

In other news, CFO Mark W. Marinko purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $5.84 per share, for a total transaction of $58,400.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 71,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $419,300.32. This represents a 16.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Phillip Michael Hardesty purchased 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $5.83 per share, for a total transaction of $72,875.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the senior vice president directly owned 298,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,741,286.91. This represents a 4.37% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.49% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SunCoke Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in SunCoke Energy by 544.8% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,992 shares of the energy company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 2,528 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in SunCoke Energy by 69.4% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,831 shares of the energy company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,569 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in SunCoke Energy by 44.9% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,256 shares of the energy company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,318 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in SunCoke Energy by 190.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,132 shares of the energy company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 2,707 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in SunCoke Energy by 176.2% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,615 shares of the energy company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 3,582 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.45% of the company's stock.

SunCoke Energy Price Performance

NYSE:SXC opened at $6.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 2.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $532.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.07 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $6.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $7.22. SunCoke Energy has a 1-year low of $5.51 and a 1-year high of $9.82.

SunCoke Energy (NYSE:SXC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The energy company reported ($1.00) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($1.10). The firm had revenue of $480.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $437.45 million. SunCoke Energy had a negative net margin of 2.41% and a positive return on equity of 7.43%. SunCoke Energy's revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.28 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that SunCoke Energy will post 0.71 EPS for the current year.

SunCoke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. SunCoke Energy's payout ratio is presently -92.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SXC shares. B. Riley Financial lowered their target price on shares of SunCoke Energy from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of SunCoke Energy from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SunCoke Energy has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $9.00.

About SunCoke Energy

SunCoke Energy, Inc is a leading independent producer of metallurgical coke and related products for the steel and foundry industries. The company specializes in manufacturing both blast furnace coke and foundry coke, offering high‐quality, low‐sulfur coal products that serve as essential inputs in steelmaking and metal casting processes. In addition to coke production, SunCoke provides comprehensive engineering, maintenance and environmental solutions tailored to the needs of integrated steel mills and foundries.

The company operates a network of coke production facilities across the United States, including plants in Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia and Louisiana.

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