Contrasting SunCoke Energy (SXC) & Its Rivals

SunCoke Energy (NYSE:SXC) is one of 1,984 publicly-traded companies in the “Metals & Mining” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its peers? We will compare SunCoke Energy to related companies based on the strength of its valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability and dividends.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

90.5% of SunCoke Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 16.1% of shares of all “Metals & Mining” companies are held by institutional investors. 1.7% of SunCoke Energy shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 17.6% of shares of all “Metals & Mining” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

SunCoke Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.5%. SunCoke Energy pays out -73.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Metals & Mining” companies pay a dividend yield of 10.2% and pay out 10.8% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. SunCoke Energy has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares SunCoke Energy and its peers gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
SunCoke Energy	$1.84 billion	-$44.20 million	-16.45
SunCoke Energy Competitors	$5.23 billion	$278.26 million	-26.28

SunCoke Energy’s peers have higher revenue and earnings than SunCoke Energy. SunCoke Energy is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for SunCoke Energy and its peers, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SunCoke Energy	0	2	0	0	2.00
SunCoke Energy Competitors	6420	22620	32335	1800	2.47

SunCoke Energy presently has a consensus price target of $11.00, indicating a potential upside of 2.85%. As a group, “Metals & Mining” companies have a potential upside of 27.00%. Given SunCoke Energy’s peers stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe SunCoke Energy has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Profitability

This table compares SunCoke Energy and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SunCoke Energy	-2.91%	5.68%	2.01%
SunCoke Energy Competitors	-1,161,736,352,322,426,600.00%	-52.89%	-2.07%

Risk and Volatility

SunCoke Energy has a beta of 0.94, suggesting that its share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SunCoke Energy’s peers have a beta of 0.96, suggesting that their average share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

SunCoke Energy peers beat SunCoke Energy on 9 of the 15 factors compared.

SunCoke Energy Company Profile

SunCoke Energy, Inc. produces coke, a key fuel and carbon input used in blast furnace steelmaking. Its heat-recovery cokemaking process captures heat generated during production for use in generating steam and electricity. The company also provides coal-handling and logistics services, including coal blending, transportation, and the operation of export and transloading terminals. These services support the movement of coal and other bulk materials for steelmakers and other customers. SunCoke was spun off from Sunoco in 2012.