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

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

SCCO has been the subject of a number of other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $127.91 target price on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Monday, January 12th. UBS Group reissued a “sell” rating and set a $148.74 price target (up from $146.75) on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $154.69 price objective on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and seven have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $136.49.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

NYSE SCCO opened at $200.99 on Friday. Southern Copper has a 1-year low of $74.84 and a 1-year high of $218.81. The company has a 50 day moving average of $173.75 and a 200-day moving average of $138.23. The company has a current ratio of 4.52, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $163.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.78, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.07.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is an increase from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is 75.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Lerdo De Tejada Leon Contreras sold 9,326 shares of the business’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 directly owned 605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $126,783.04. The trade was a 93.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.83, for a total value of $55,544.87. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $175,731.28. This trade represents a 24.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern Copper

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Southern Copper in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,976,000. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 941,712 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $95,273,000 after acquiring an additional 38,856 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Southern Copper by 5.7% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 148,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $17,778,000 after acquiring an additional 7,995 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Southern Copper by 2,631.9% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 13,441 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,631,000 after acquiring an additional 12,949 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Southern Copper by 54.2% during the third 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 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.