Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Analysts

Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) has received an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the thirteen analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $144.7885.

SCCO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Southern Copper from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $178.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Southern Copper from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Itau BBA Securities cut Southern Copper from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $124.94 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Southern Copper from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 27th.

Insider Transactions at Southern Copper

In related news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 193 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.60, for a total value of $33,697.80. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $298,042.20. The trade was a 10.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lerdo De Tejada Leon Contreras sold 9,326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.56, for a total value of $1,954,344.91. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 605 shares in the company, valued at $126,783.04. This represents a 93.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 9,526 shares of company stock worth $1,989,373 over the last 90 days. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern Copper

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SCCO. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Southern Copper by 36.1% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,437,608 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $781,268,000 after buying an additional 1,708,693 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the fourth quarter valued at about $97,645,000. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the fourth quarter valued at about $81,039,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,560,000. Finally, USS Investment Management Ltd increased its position in shares of Southern Copper by 904.8% during the fourth quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 301,655 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $43,272,000 after buying an additional 271,634 shares during the period. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Copper Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SCCO opened at $194.44 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $187.46 and its 200 day moving average is $161.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 3.40 and a current ratio of 3.89. The company has a market capitalization of $159.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.16. Southern Copper has a fifty-two week low of $84.97 and a fifty-two week high of $223.88.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.73 billion. Southern Copper had a net margin of 32.30% and a return on equity of 41.97%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Southern Copper will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. This is an increase from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.19%.

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.