Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) Receives Consensus Rating of “Reduce” from Analysts

Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) has earned an average rating of “Reduce” from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $144.4297.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Southern Copper from $117.50 to $127.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Southern Copper from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $178.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Southern Copper from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 27th. Scotiabank reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target (up from $133.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $171.00 target price on Southern Copper and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern Copper

In other news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 193 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.60, for a total transaction of $33,697.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $298,042.20. This represents a 10.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last three months, insiders sold 300 shares of company stock worth $52,848. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SCCO. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Southern Copper in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,976,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Southern Copper by 2,631.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 13,441 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,631,000 after purchasing an additional 12,949 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Southern Copper by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 148,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $17,778,000 after purchasing an additional 7,995 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Southern Copper by 159.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,308 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,251,000 after purchasing an additional 6,341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Southern Copper by 54.2% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 35,647 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,326,000 after purchasing an additional 12,532 shares during the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Copper Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:SCCO opened at $169.02 on Wednesday. Southern Copper has a 12-month low of $88.73 and a 12-month high of $223.88. The company has a market capitalization of $138.45 billion, a PE ratio of 27.94, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50 day moving average of $178.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $168.79. The company has a current ratio of 4.38, a quick ratio of 3.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.04. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 45.63% and a net margin of 34.13%.The company had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.96 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Southern Copper will post 6.97 EPS for the current year.

Southern Copper Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.12%.

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.