Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Price Target Cut to $140.00 by Analysts at UBS Group

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) had its price objective cut by UBS Group from $150.00 to $140.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a sell rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $127.91 price target on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Southern Copper from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Finally, Itau BBA Securities lowered Southern Copper from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $124.94 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and eight have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern Copper presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $139.20.

Southern Copper Price Performance

Southern Copper stock opened at $161.91 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $189.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $153.42. Southern Copper has a 12 month low of $74.84 and a 12 month high of $223.88. The company has a market capitalization of $132.62 billion, a PE ratio of 30.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 3.89, a quick ratio of 3.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.73 billion. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 41.97% and a net margin of 32.30%.During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Southern Copper will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th were given a $1.00 dividend. This is an increase from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 193 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.60, for a total value of $33,697.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,707 shares in the company, valued at $298,042.20. The trade was a 10.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Lerdo De Tejada Leon Contreras sold 9,326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.56, for a total transaction of $1,954,344.91. Following the sale, the director directly owned 605 shares in the company, valued at $126,783.04. This trade represents a 93.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,526 shares of company stock worth $1,989,373. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SCCO. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Southern Copper during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in Southern Copper in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 65.1% during the 3rd quarter. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. now owns 213 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. 7.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.