Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) had its target price hoisted by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $160.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “underweight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential downside of 14.38% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on Southern Copper from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $190.38 price target on Southern Copper and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Itau BBA Securities lowered Southern Copper from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $124.94 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and eight have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $139.68.

Southern Copper Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SCCO opened at $186.87 on Thursday. Southern Copper has a 1-year low of $74.87 and a 1-year high of $223.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 3.89 and a quick ratio of 3.40. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $188.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $157.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $153.06 billion, a PE ratio of 35.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.16.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.73 billion. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 41.97% and a net margin of 32.30%.During the same period last year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Southern Copper will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Lerdo De Tejada Leon Contreras sold 9,326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.56, for a total transaction of $1,954,344.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $126,783.04. This trade represents a 93.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 193 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.60, for a total value of $33,697.80. Following 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 9,526 shares of company stock valued at $1,989,373 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Southern Copper by 36.1% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,437,608 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $781,268,000 after buying an additional 1,708,693 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 66,268 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 0.3% in the 4th 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. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,181,293 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $169,480,000 after purchasing an additional 90,237 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,091,632 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $132,479,000 after purchasing an additional 123,532 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

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.