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

Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) has been given an average rating of “Reduce” by the eight analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $89.57.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SCCO. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Friday, July 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Southern Copper from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Southern Copper from $81.70 to $100.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

SCCO opened at $101.72 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a current ratio of 2.81. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $106.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $105.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.46 billion, a PE ratio of 33.79, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.20. Southern Copper has a 52-week low of $68.93 and a 52-week high of $129.79.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 34.98% and a net margin of 26.15%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Southern Copper will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is 79.73%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern Copper

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Southern Copper by 8,523.8% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 172,907 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,882,000 after buying an additional 170,902 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern Copper in the 4th quarter valued at $261,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $373,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. bought a new stake in Southern Copper during the 4th quarter worth $326,000. Finally, Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Southern Copper by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 4,978 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $428,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Southern Copper

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.