Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

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

Several other research firms have also issued reports on SCCO. Itau BBA Securities lowered shares of Southern Copper from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $126.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $143.00 target price (up previously from $135.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Friday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Southern Copper from $114.50 to $119.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $115.00 price objective (up previously from $89.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $123.85.

Southern Copper Price Performance

Shares of Southern Copper stock opened at $170.55 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $138.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a current ratio of 4.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $140.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $119.82. Southern Copper has a one year low of $74.84 and a one year high of $171.08.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.09. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 38.74% and a net margin of 30.98%.The company had revenue of $3.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Equities analysts expect that Southern Copper will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Southern Copper Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th were issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 12th. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.00, for a total transaction of $55,600.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $175,835. This trade represents a 24.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last three months, insiders sold 948 shares of company stock worth $131,130. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 79.1% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 96,135 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,792,000 after purchasing an additional 42,457 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. purchased a new position in Southern Copper during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,175,000. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Southern Copper by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,599 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $660,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Southern Copper by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,465 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,793,000 after buying an additional 1,971 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Southern Copper by 74.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 258,341 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,142,000 after acquiring an additional 109,857 shares in the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Copper Company Profile

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.