Brokerages Set Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) PT at $139.99

Shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) have earned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the thirteen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $139.9908.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SCCO. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $127.91 target price on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Bank of America cut Southern Copper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $162.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $190.38 price target on shares of Southern Copper and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $116.51 price objective (down from $118.49) on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Southern Copper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday.

Insider Activity at Southern Copper

In other Southern Copper news, Director Lerdo De Tejada Leon Contreras sold 9,326 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 represents a 93.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Southern Copper

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SCCO. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Southern Copper in the third quarter worth about $2,976,000. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 941,712 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $95,273,000 after purchasing an additional 38,856 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in 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 worth $17,778,000 after purchasing an additional 7,995 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of 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. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Southern Copper by 54.2% during the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 35,647 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,326,000 after acquiring an additional 12,532 shares during the period. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Copper Trading Down 5.7%

Shares of SCCO stock opened at $206.44 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $167.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 3.91, a current ratio of 4.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Southern Copper has a 12-month low of $74.84 and a 12-month high of $223.88. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $183.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $144.27.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a boost from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is 75.19%.

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.