Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Rating Increased to Strong Sell at Barclays

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) was upgraded by research analysts at Barclays to a “strong sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Friday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Southern Copper from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $178.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group increased their target price on Southern Copper from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America lowered Southern Copper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $162.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Southern Copper from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and eight have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $145.14.

Southern Copper Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SCCO opened at $179.68 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.70, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.07. Southern Copper has a 12 month low of $88.73 and a 12 month high of $223.88. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $177.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 4.38 and a quick ratio of 3.89.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.04. Southern Copper had a net margin of 34.13% and a return on equity of 45.63%. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.96 billion. Analysts expect that Southern Copper will post 6.93 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.82, for a total value of $35,564.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders sold 500 shares of company stock valued at $88,412. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BankChampaign National Association acquired a new position in Southern Copper in the 1st quarter valued at $600,000. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 449,320 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $77,310,000 after acquiring an additional 15,664 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 41.9% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,646 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $972,000 after acquiring an additional 1,667 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 252,524 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $43,449,000 after acquiring an additional 931 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 192.7% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 108,462 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $18,662,000 after acquiring an additional 71,405 shares during the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.