Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on SCCO. CICC Research assumed coverage on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Southern Copper from $61.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. HSBC cut Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Scotiabank upped their target price on Southern Copper from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “sector underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $63.50 to $61.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.57.

Southern Copper Trading Down 3.5 %

NYSE:SCCO opened at $116.67 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $101.24 and a 200 day moving average of $86.36. The company has a quick ratio of 2.46, a current ratio of 3.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. Southern Copper has a 52 week low of $64.66 and a 52 week high of $121.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.38, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.29.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.15). Southern Copper had a return on equity of 30.29% and a net margin of 24.20%. The business had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.37 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern Copper will post 3.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Southern Copper

In related news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $35,550.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $546,759. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 600 shares of company stock worth $63,430. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern Copper

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the first quarter worth approximately $240,000. Norden Group LLC acquired a new stake in Southern Copper during the 1st quarter worth $1,820,000. HB Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the first quarter worth $230,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the first quarter valued at about $224,000. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 1.8% in the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 22,335 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,379,000 after buying an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Copper Company Profile

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.