Analysts Set Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) PT at $139.99

Shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the thirteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $139.1966.

SCCO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Monday, January 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $127.91 price objective on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $190.38 price objective on Southern Copper and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $116.51 target price (down from $118.49) on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Friday, January 23rd.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

NYSE SCCO opened at $158.99 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $189.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $130.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 3.89, a quick ratio of 3.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Southern Copper has a 1 year low of $74.84 and a 1 year high of $223.88.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.01. Southern Copper had a net margin of 32.30% and a return on equity of 41.97%. The business had revenue of $3.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Southern Copper will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a boost from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is presently 75.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 193 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.60, for a total value of $33,697.80. Following the sale, the director owned 1,707 shares in the company, valued at $298,042.20. This trade represents a 10.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Lerdo De Tejada Leon Contreras sold 9,326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.56, for a total transaction of $1,954,344.91. Following the sale, the director directly owned 605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $126,783.04. The trade was a 93.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,526 shares of company stock valued at $1,989,373. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern Copper

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southern Copper in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,976,000. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Southern Copper by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 941,712 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $95,273,000 after buying an additional 38,856 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Southern Copper by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 148,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,778,000 after buying an additional 7,995 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Southern Copper by 2,631.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 13,441 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,631,000 after acquiring an additional 12,949 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Southern Copper by 54.2% during the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 35,647 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,326,000 after acquiring an additional 12,532 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

About Southern Copper

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.