Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $144.00 target price on shares of Southern Copper and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Citigroup reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $108.00 price target (up previously from $89.10) on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $138.00 price target on shares of Southern Copper and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Southern Copper from $114.50 to $119.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern Copper currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $123.85.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

Southern Copper stock opened at $170.55 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.91, a current ratio of 4.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a market capitalization of $138.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.75, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $140.40 and its 200 day moving average is $119.97. Southern Copper has a twelve month low of $74.84 and a twelve month high of $171.08.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.09. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 38.74% and a net margin of 30.98%.The business had revenue of $3.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Southern Copper will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern Copper

In other news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.00, for a total value of $55,600.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,265 shares in the company, valued at $175,835. This trade represents a 24.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 948 shares of company stock worth $131,130. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Southern Copper

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SCCO. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Southern Copper by 4.3% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 941,712 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $95,273,000 after acquiring an additional 38,856 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Southern Copper by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 140,489 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,326,000 after purchasing an additional 8,531 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Southern Copper by 82.5% during the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 5,085 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $514,000 after purchasing an additional 2,298 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in Southern Copper in the second quarter worth $5,436,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Inc. OK lifted its position in Southern Copper by 1.3% in the second quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 277,035 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,028,000 after buying an additional 3,449 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.