Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Buy” Rating

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.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $138.00 price objective on shares of Southern Copper and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Southern Copper from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Citigroup reissued a “sell” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $155.00 price objective on Southern Copper and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $182.00 price objective on Southern Copper and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $129.05.

Southern Copper Stock Down 1.0%

NYSE:SCCO opened at $181.06 on Friday. Southern Copper has a 52 week low of $74.84 and a 52 week high of $184.17. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $144.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.06. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.09. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 38.74% and a net margin of 30.98%.The firm had revenue of $3.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Southern Copper will post 4.66 EPS for the current 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 $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 12th. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is 75.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 400 shares of Southern Copper stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.00, for a total transaction of $55,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $175,835. The trade was a 24.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders sold 948 shares of company stock valued at $131,130 in the last 90 days. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern Copper

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 4.3% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 941,712 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $95,273,000 after buying an additional 38,856 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Southern Copper by 5.7% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 148,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,778,000 after acquiring an additional 7,995 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Southern Copper by 82.5% in the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 5,085 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $514,000 after acquiring an additional 2,298 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the 2nd quarter worth $5,436,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Inc. OK boosted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 277,035 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,028,000 after purchasing an additional 3,449 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 (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.