Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Sunday morning.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $129.00 price objective on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $155.00 price target on shares of Southern Copper and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $182.00 price objective on Southern Copper and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $138.00 price objective on Southern Copper and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Itau BBA Securities lowered Southern Copper from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $126.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $129.05.

Southern Copper Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SCCO opened at $186.30 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.91, a current ratio of 4.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Southern Copper has a fifty-two week low of $74.84 and a fifty-two week high of $186.68. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $146.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $123.74. The firm has a market cap of $151.31 billion, a PE ratio of 39.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.06.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.09. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 38.74% and a net margin of 30.98%.The company had revenue of $3.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Southern Copper will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 12th were issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 12th. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.47%.

Insider Transactions at Southern Copper

In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.00, for a total value of $55,600.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $175,835. This represents a 24.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 948 shares of company stock valued at $131,130 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern Copper

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Savvy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the fourth quarter valued at $1,434,000. Cigna Investments Inc. New raised its holdings in Southern Copper by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New now owns 1,934 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Southern Copper during the fourth quarter valued at about $158,000. Balboa Wealth Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 6,908 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $991,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Southern Copper by 149.1% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,419 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $777,000 after acquiring an additional 3,244 shares in the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Copper Company Profile

Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE: SCCO) is a large, integrated copper producer whose operations span the full value chain from exploration and mining to smelting, refining and the sale of copper and other metal products. The company produces a range of copper products including copper concentrate and refined cathodes, and recovers valuable byproducts such as molybdenum, silver and zinc. Southern Copper concentrates on high-volume, long-life assets designed to support steady production and processing capabilities.

Southern Copper’s operations are concentrated in Peru and Mexico, where it owns and operates multiple large-scale mining and processing facilities.