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

Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) has received a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $84.50.

SCCO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Southern Copper from $61.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. CICC Research began coverage on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $91.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. HSBC downgraded shares of Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Southern Copper from $81.70 to $100.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st.

Southern Copper Stock Down 1.5 %

Southern Copper stock opened at $114.54 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $100.68. The company has a current ratio of 3.31, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Southern Copper has a 1-year low of $68.93 and a 1-year high of $129.79. The company has a market cap of $89.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.19.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $2.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 30.44% and a net margin of 24.20%. Research analysts anticipate that Southern Copper will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th were issued a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.03%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 7th. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is currently 1.33%.

Insider Transactions at Southern Copper

In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $35,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,614 shares in the company, valued at $546,759. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 300 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,614 shares in the company, valued at approximately $546,759. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director PALOMINO BONILLA LUIS MIGUEL sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.30, for a total value of $425,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $261,916.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,000 shares of company stock valued at $472,430. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Southern Copper

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fortis Group Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Southern Copper by 100.0% in the fourth 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 during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern Copper in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Southern Copper during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Viking Fund Management LLC bought a new position in Southern Copper during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Southern Copper by 164.8% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 482 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. 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.