Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays started coverage on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Thursday, May 21st. They set an “underweight” rating and a $148.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Southern Copper from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Southern Copper from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $178.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Scotiabank reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $140.00 price target (up from $135.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Southern Copper from $127.00 to $131.50 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and eight have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $147.10.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

NYSE:SCCO traded up $1.56 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $175.99. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 791,271 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,224,357. The company has a current ratio of 4.38, a quick ratio of 3.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market cap of $145.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.09, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $181.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $180.93. Southern Copper has a 12-month low of $88.73 and a 12-month high of $223.88.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director directly owned 1,807 shares in the company, valued at $321,320.74. This trade represents a 9.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 404 shares of company stock valued at $74,108 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Southern Copper in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Southern Copper in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern Copper in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Southern Copper by 233.3% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

About Southern Copper

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.