Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Monday morning.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Southern Copper from $63.50 to $61.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southern Copper from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their price target for the stock from $91.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $61.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a sell rating 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 target for the company. in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, CICC Research assumed coverage on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. They issued an outperform rating for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $85.57.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

NYSE SCCO opened at $115.14 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $101.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.56. The company has a quick ratio of 2.46, a current ratio of 3.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. Southern Copper has a 12-month low of $64.66 and a 12-month high of $121.00. The firm has a market cap of $89.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.88, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.29.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.37 billion. Southern Copper had a net margin of 24.20% and a return on equity of 30.29%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Southern Copper will post 3.95 EPS for the current year.

Southern Copper Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.03%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 7th. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is 105.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern Copper

In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 300 shares of the firm’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 owns 4,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $546,759. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 600 shares of company stock valued at $63,430. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern Copper

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SCCO. Hartford Financial Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 100.0% during 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 last quarter. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Viking Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 164.8% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 482 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 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.