Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) Receives Average Rating of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) has been given a consensus rating of “Reduce” by the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $147.1856.

SCCO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $171.00 price objective on Southern Copper and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Scotiabank reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $140.00 target price (up from $135.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Monday, June 15th. Barclays started coverage on Southern Copper in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $148.00 price target for the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $160.00 price objective (up from $145.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Wednesday, June 24th.

Southern Copper Trading Down 3.2%

NYSE:SCCO opened at $168.71 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $182.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.68. Southern Copper has a 52 week low of $88.73 and a 52 week high of $223.88. The company has a quick ratio of 3.89, a current ratio of 4.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market cap of $139.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.89, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.12.

Southern Copper Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is currently 66.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern Copper

In other news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.82, for a total transaction of $35,564.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $321,320.74. The trade was a 9.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold 404 shares of company stock worth $74,108 over the last three months. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern Copper

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCCO. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Southern Copper by 42.1% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 44,879 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,194,000 after buying an additional 13,293 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 17.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,705 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $627,000 after acquiring an additional 1,020 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 21.5% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,944 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $556,000 after acquiring an additional 1,052 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Southern Copper by 37.4% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 73,379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,424,000 after acquiring an additional 19,957 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Southern Copper by 17.7% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,864 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $492,000 after acquiring an additional 731 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Company Profile

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.