Scotiabank Issues Positive Forecast for Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Stock Price

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) had its target price boosted by Scotiabank from $133.00 to $135.00 in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector underperform rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Bank of America lowered shares of Southern Copper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $162.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Southern Copper from $117.50 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Southern Copper from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Southern Copper from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and seven have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern Copper has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $144.43.

Southern Copper Trading Down 6.2%

Shares of SCCO opened at $176.80 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $179.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $168.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.22, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 4.38, a quick ratio of 3.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Southern Copper has a 1-year low of $88.54 and a 1-year high of $223.88.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.04. Southern Copper had a net margin of 34.13% and a return on equity of 45.63%. The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.96 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern Copper will post 6.97 EPS for the current year.

Southern Copper Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.12%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 193 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $298,042.20. This represents a 10.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern Copper

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SHP Wealth Management bought a new position in Southern Copper during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new position in Southern Copper during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new position in Southern Copper during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. bought a new position in Southern Copper during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Southern Copper during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Institutional investors own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Company Profile

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.