Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. CICC Research cut shares of Southern Copper to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings raised Southern Copper from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Southern Copper from $125.49 to $129.94 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and seven have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $156.02.

Southern Copper Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE SCCO opened at $208.93 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $174.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.55, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.11. Southern Copper has a 12 month low of $119.25 and a 12 month high of $223.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $200.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $186.34.

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

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Southern Copper

In other Southern Copper news, Director Luis Palomino Bonilla sold 202 shares of Southern Copper stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders sold 704 shares of company stock worth $138,077. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern Copper

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 0.8% during the second quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC now owns 6,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,084,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Emergent Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Southern Copper by 1.0% in the second quarter. Emergent Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,366 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $935,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Southern Copper by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,802 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Howard Financial Services LTD. increased its position in Southern Copper by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 1,587 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Southern Copper by 45.3% during the 1st quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 263 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

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.