Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Shares Gap Down to $114.08

Shares of Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $114.08, but opened at $110.00. Southern Copper shares last traded at $111.49, with a volume of 250,351 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on SCCO shares. StockNews.com lowered Southern Copper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $91.00 to $130.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Southern Copper from $61.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Southern Copper from $63.50 to $61.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Southern Copper presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.83.

Southern Copper Stock Down 0.6 %

The company has a quick ratio of 2.46, a current ratio of 3.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The company has a market cap of $87.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a fifty day moving average of $94.10 and a 200 day moving average of $83.23.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.37 billion. Southern Copper had a net margin of 24.51% and a return on equity of 30.85%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Southern Copper Co. will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 13th were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 12th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.91%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern Copper

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern Copper in the first quarter valued at about $172,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 6.1% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 113,747 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $12,116,000 after purchasing an additional 6,562 shares during the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 27.4% in the first quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,563 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $166,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the first quarter worth about $2,091,000. Finally, Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the first quarter worth about $254,000. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Copper Company Profile

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.