SunCoke Energy, Inc. (NYSE:SXC) Plans $0.10 Quarterly Dividend

SunCoke Energy, Inc. (NYSE:SXC) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 2nd, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of 0.10 per share by the energy company on Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th.

SunCoke Energy has increased its dividend by an average of 14.5% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 2 consecutive years. SunCoke Energy has a payout ratio of 56.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect SunCoke Energy to earn $0.62 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 64.5%.

SunCoke Energy Stock Performance

SunCoke Energy stock traded up $0.28 during trading on Thursday, hitting $10.13. The stock had a trading volume of 692,622 shares, compared to its average volume of 821,509. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market cap of $851.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.16 and a beta of 1.19. SunCoke Energy has a 1 year low of $6.71 and a 1 year high of $11.48. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $10.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.30.

SunCoke Energy (NYSE:SXC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The energy company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $488.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $549.40 million. SunCoke Energy had a net margin of 2.79% and a return on equity of 8.99%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.19 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that SunCoke Energy will post 0.86 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SunCoke Energy news, CEO Michael G. Rippey sold 48,618 shares of SunCoke Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.93, for a total value of $531,394.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 763,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,344,060.37. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Michael G. Rippey sold 122,533 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.11, for a total transaction of $1,361,341.63. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 521,073 shares in the company, valued at $5,789,121.03. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael G. Rippey sold 48,618 shares of SunCoke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.93, for a total transaction of $531,394.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 763,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,344,060.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 251,572 shares of company stock valued at $2,781,834. Insiders own 1.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SXC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of SunCoke Energy from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $12.00 price target on shares of SunCoke Energy in a report on Thursday.

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.