Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

SCCO has been the topic of several other reports. Citigroup restated a “positive” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Scotiabank reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $140.00 price objective (up from $135.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Monday, June 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Southern Copper from $127.00 to $131.50 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. CICC Research cut Southern Copper to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 26th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $160.00 target price (up from $145.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and seven have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $148.60.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

SCCO stock opened at $182.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 3.89 and a current ratio of 4.38. The stock has a market cap of $150.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $181.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $184.19. Southern Copper has a 52 week low of $89.87 and a 52 week high of $223.88.

Southern Copper’s stock is set to split before the market opens on Tuesday, August 11th. The 1.012-1 split was recently announced. The newly issued shares will be payable to shareholders after the market closes on Monday, August 10th.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. Southern Copper had a net margin of 35.87% and a return on equity of 50.74%. The firm had revenue of $4.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.37 billion. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 40.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Southern Copper will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.82, for a total transaction of $35,564.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $321,320.74. This represents a 9.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 504 shares of company stock worth $92,008. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern Copper

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the fourth quarter worth approximately $97,645,000. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $81,039,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the first quarter worth $85,342,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the fourth quarter worth $46,560,000. Finally, USS Investment Management Ltd increased its position in 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 worth $43,272,000 after acquiring an additional 271,634 shares during the period. 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.