JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Stock Price

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) had its price target raised by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $114.50 to $119.50 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective points to a potential downside of 15.11% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen raised Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 6th. HSBC reissued a “hold” rating and set a $118.00 price target (up previously from $105.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Friday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $121.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Southern Copper from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $122.83.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

Southern Copper stock traded down $0.69 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $140.76. 350,504 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,445,416. The firm has a market cap of $114.33 billion, a PE ratio of 29.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.07. Southern Copper has a twelve month low of $74.84 and a twelve month high of $149.75. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $134.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $113.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a current ratio of 4.52.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.09. Southern Copper had a net margin of 30.98% and a return on equity of 38.74%. The company had revenue of $3.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Equities analysts predict that Southern Copper will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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. This trade represents a 24.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders sold a total of 948 shares of company stock valued at $131,130 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Southern Copper

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the third quarter valued at $25,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. grew its holdings in Southern Copper by 65.1% in the 3rd quarter. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. now owns 213 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Tobam acquired a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. United Community Bank purchased a new position in Southern Copper during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in Southern Copper in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.