Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.15 EPS

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The basic materials company reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.15, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $4.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.49 billion. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 49.04% and a net margin of 35.87%.

Southern Copper Trading Down 3.4%

Southern Copper stock opened at $195.44 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $201.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $187.96. The company has a market capitalization of $163.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 4.56, a current ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Southern Copper has a 52 week low of $119.25 and a 52 week high of $223.88.

Southern Copper shares are set to split before the market opens on Tuesday, November 3rd. The 1.0106-1 split was recently announced. The newly created shares will be payable to shareholders after the market closes on Monday, November 2nd.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 3rd will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 3rd. This is a positive change from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is currently 76.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SCCO. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Southern Copper from $172.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Southern Copper from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. UBS Group reissued a “sell” rating and set a $180.00 price objective (up from $160.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and seven have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern Copper currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $160.95.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Luis Palomino Bonilla sold 202 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.79, for a total transaction of $39,751.28. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $339,066.65. This represents a 10.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 704 shares of company stock valued at $138,077. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

About Southern Copper

Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) is a mining and metals company engaged primarily in the exploration, development, extraction, processing and production of copper. The company also produces molybdenum, zinc, silver and lead, along with related byproducts. Its operations include open-pit mines, underground mines, concentrators, smelters, refineries and other processing facilities.

Southern Copper operates mainly in Peru and Mexico. Its Peruvian assets include the Toquepala and Cuajone copper mines, while its Mexican operations include the Buenavista del Cobre and La Caridad mines, as well as associated processing and infrastructure facilities.