Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $156.02 According to Analysts

Shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) have been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $156.02.

SCCO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup restated a “positive” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Southern Copper from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $172.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays set a $164.03 price target on shares of Southern Copper and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, CICC Research downgraded Southern Copper to a “market perform” rating in a report on Sunday, July 26th.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

SCCO opened at $209.07 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $200.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $185.79. The company has a current ratio of 5.06, a quick ratio of 4.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $174.44 billion, a PE ratio of 30.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.11. Southern Copper has a 1 year low of $119.25 and a 1 year high of $223.88.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.06. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 49.04% and a net margin of 35.87%. The firm had revenue of $4.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.37 billion. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Southern Copper will post 7.94 EPS for the current year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th were given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This is a boost from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is 64.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Luis Palomino Bonilla sold 202 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.79, for a total value of $39,751.28. Following the sale, the director owned 1,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 is available through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 704 shares of company stock valued at $138,077. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,729,500,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Southern Copper during the 2nd quarter valued at about $318,448,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Southern Copper in the second quarter valued at about $149,739,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in Southern Copper in the first quarter valued at about $85,342,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in Southern Copper in the second quarter valued at about $85,770,000. 7.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Copper Company Profile

Southern Copper Corp. is an integrated copper producer engaged in the exploration, mining, processing, smelting and refining of copper and other minerals. Its principal products include copper cathodes, copper concentrates, molybdenum, zinc, silver and lead. The company also produces sulfuric acid and other byproducts through its metallurgical operations.

Southern Copper operates major mining and processing assets in Mexico and Peru. Its Mexican operations include the Buenavista del Cobre and La Caridad mining complexes, while its Peruvian operations include the Cuajone and Toquepala mines.