Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Sunday.

SCCO has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $190.38 price target on shares of Southern Copper and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $116.51 price objective (down from $118.49) on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $127.91 target price on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. UBS Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $148.74 price target (up from $146.75) on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Itau BBA Securities downgraded shares of Southern Copper from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $124.94 price target on the stock. in a research note 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.com, Southern Copper has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $139.99.

Southern Copper Stock Down 5.7%

NYSE:SCCO opened at $206.44 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $183.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $144.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $167.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.80, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 4.52, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Southern Copper has a 1-year low of $74.84 and a 1-year high of $223.88.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 10th. This is a boost from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.19%.

Insider Transactions at Southern Copper

In other Southern Copper news, Director Lerdo De Tejada Leon Contreras sold 9,326 shares of the 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 transaction, the director directly owned 605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $126,783.04. This represents a 93.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Southern Copper during the 4th quarter worth $187,000. Sankala Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern Copper in the fourth quarter worth about $249,000. DGS Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the 4th quarter worth about $224,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 344,350 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,404,000 after purchasing an additional 65,598 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Southern Copper in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $479,000. 7.94% of the stock is currently 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.