Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

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

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on SCCO. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $143.00 price objective (up from $135.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Southern Copper from $121.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $115.00 price target (up from $89.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $138.00 price objective on Southern Copper and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Southern Copper from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $122.83.

Southern Copper Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SCCO opened at $144.15 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $117.08 billion, a PE ratio of 30.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.07. Southern Copper has a fifty-two week low of $74.84 and a fifty-two week high of $149.75. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $134.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $113.96. 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 (NYSE:SCCO) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $3.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Southern Copper had a net margin of 30.98% and a return on equity of 38.74%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern Copper will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Southern Copper Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th were paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 12th. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is 75.47%.

Insider Activity at Southern Copper

In other news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 400 shares of Southern Copper stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.00, for a total transaction of $55,600.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $175,835. The trade was a 24.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 948 shares of company stock valued at $131,130 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. increased its position in Southern Copper by 65.1% in the 3rd quarter. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. now owns 213 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 30.4% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 360 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Avanza Fonder AB now owns 8,663 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,051,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Southern Copper by 1.5% in the third quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 5,999 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $728,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Powell Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Southern Copper by 1.0% during the third quarter. Powell Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,637 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,170,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.