Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) Receives Average Rating of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Shares of Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) have earned an average rating of “Reduce” from the seven research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $90.33.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SCCO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Southern Copper from $61.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. StockNews.com raised Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Southern Copper from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Southern Copper from $63.50 to $61.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $91.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd.

Southern Copper Stock Down 7.9 %

Shares of NYSE:SCCO opened at $116.75 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $112.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.60. Southern Copper has a 12-month low of $64.66 and a 12-month high of $129.79. The firm has a market cap of $91.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 3.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $2.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Southern Copper had a net margin of 24.20% and a return on equity of 30.44%. Analysts predict that Southern Copper will post 3.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Copper Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.03%. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is presently 1.33%.

Insider Transactions at Southern Copper

In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 300 shares of Southern Copper stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $35,550.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $546,759. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 600 shares of company stock valued at $63,430. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SCCO. Fortis Group Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 302 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Viking Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 164.8% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 482 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

About Southern Copper

Southern Copper Corporation engages in mining, exploring, smelting, and refining copper and other minerals in Peru, Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador, and Chile. The company is involved in the mining, milling, and flotation of copper ore to produce copper and molybdenum concentrates; smelting of copper concentrates to produce blister and anode copper; refining of anode copper to produce copper cathodes; production of molybdenum concentrate and sulfuric acid; production of refined silver, gold, and other materials; and mining and processing of zinc, copper, molybdenum, silver, gold, and lead.