Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Trading Up 8.3% – Still a Buy?

Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO)’s stock price traded up 8.3% on Friday . The company traded as high as $215.25 and last traded at $215.17. Approximately 247,466 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 1,635,531 shares. The stock had previously closed at $198.73.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research lowered Southern Copper from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Barclays set a $164.03 target price on Southern Copper and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. CICC Research lowered Southern Copper to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 26th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $158.10 price target (up from $143.28) on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $168.97 to $169.96 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and seven have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $146.84.

Southern Copper Stock Up 5.5%

The company has a market capitalization of $174.88 billion, a PE ratio of 30.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $181.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $182.97. The company has a quick ratio of 4.56, a current ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.06. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 49.04% and a net margin of 35.87%.The company had revenue of $4.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.37 billion. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Southern Copper Corporation will post 7.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This is an increase from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 202 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.79, for a total transaction of $39,751.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $339,066.65. The trade was a 10.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 509 shares of company stock worth $97,753 over the last 90 days. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern Copper

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Southern Copper in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,729,500,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the second quarter valued at $696,621,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Southern Copper by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,862,244 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $410,646,000 after acquiring an additional 66,268 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Southern Copper by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,536,228 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $363,873,000 after purchasing an additional 7,194 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Southern Copper in the 2nd quarter worth about $318,448,000. 7.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.