Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Position in SunCoke Energy, Inc. (NYSE:SXC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in SunCoke Energy, Inc. (NYSE:SXC) by 10.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 396,373 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 44,842 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in SunCoke Energy were worth $3,441,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SXC. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of SunCoke Energy by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 107,414 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,053,000 after acquiring an additional 4,017 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in SunCoke Energy by 35.0% in the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 32,401 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 8,400 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its position in SunCoke Energy by 24.1% during the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 90,953 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $891,000 after buying an additional 17,651 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in SunCoke Energy by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,512,292 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $24,620,000 after acquiring an additional 292,050 shares during the period. Finally, Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in shares of SunCoke Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $537,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.45% of the company’s stock.

SunCoke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SXC stock opened at $10.39 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $11.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.99. SunCoke Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $7.47 and a 52 week high of $12.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $873.72 million, a PE ratio of 10.39 and a beta of 1.07.

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

SunCoke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.62%. SunCoke Energy’s payout ratio is 48.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on SXC. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $13.00 target price on shares of SunCoke Energy in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of SunCoke Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th.

SunCoke Energy 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.