Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Stock Price

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) had its price target upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $121.00 to $137.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. HSBC reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective (up from $105.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $155.00 price target on Southern Copper and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued 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 $132.00 price target on Southern Copper and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Southern Copper from $92.00 to $114.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $117.94.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

SCCO opened at $140.01 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 4.51 and a current ratio of 5.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $116.79 and a 200-day moving average of $102.54. The company has a market cap of $112.58 billion, a PE ratio of 29.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.02. Southern Copper has a 52-week low of $74.84 and a 52-week high of $144.81.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $3.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 39.62% and a net margin of 30.98%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Southern Copper will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be paid a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern Copper

In other news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 414 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $41,400.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $232,700. The trade was a 15.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,228 shares of company stock valued at $123,102. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern Copper

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SCCO. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Southern Copper during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $57,901,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in Southern Copper during the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,338,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Southern Copper during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,086,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Southern Copper by 26.3% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,551,878 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $145,039,000 after acquiring an additional 322,935 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HRT Financial LP bought a new stake in Southern Copper during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,771,000. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by 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.