Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $139.9908.

SCCO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America lowered Southern Copper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $162.00 to $175.00 in a report on Thursday, February 26th. UBS Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $148.74 price objective (up from $146.75) on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $190.38 target price on shares of Southern Copper and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 193 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.60, for a total value of $33,697.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $298,042.20. This represents a 10.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lerdo De Tejada Leon Contreras sold 9,326 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.56, for a total value of $1,954,344.91. Following the transaction, the director owned 605 shares in the company, valued at $126,783.04. This represents a 93.91% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,526 shares of company stock valued at $1,989,373. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Southern Copper by 36.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,437,608 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $781,268,000 after acquiring an additional 1,708,693 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Southern Copper by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,862,244 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $410,646,000 after purchasing an additional 66,268 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Southern Copper by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,536,228 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $363,873,000 after purchasing an additional 7,194 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Southern Copper by 10.8% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,719,883 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $174,002,000 after purchasing an additional 168,005 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,181,293 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $169,480,000 after purchasing an additional 90,237 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Price Performance

NYSE:SCCO opened at $159.63 on Tuesday. Southern Copper has a one year low of $74.84 and a one year high of $223.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 3.40 and a current ratio of 3.89. The firm has a market cap of $129.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.00, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $191.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $152.47.

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

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

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

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.