Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $151.86 and last traded at $150.9960, with a volume of 11584 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $148.13.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SCCO. Citigroup restated a “sell” rating and issued a $108.00 price objective (up previously from $89.10) on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up previously from $89.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Itau BBA Securities lowered shares of Southern Copper from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $126.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $138.00 price objective on Southern Copper and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern Copper currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $123.85.

Southern Copper Stock Up 1.7%

The company has a market capitalization of $122.35 billion, a PE ratio of 31.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.07. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $136.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.30.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $3.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Southern Copper had a net margin of 30.98% and a return on equity of 38.74%. As a group, analysts predict that Southern Copper Corporation will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Southern Copper Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 12th were issued a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.47%.

Insider Transactions at Southern Copper

In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 400 shares of the 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 sale, the director owned 1,265 shares in the company, valued at $175,835. This represents a 24.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 948 shares of company stock worth $131,130. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern Copper

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SCCO. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in 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 worth $95,273,000 after acquiring an additional 38,856 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 6.5% in the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 140,489 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,326,000 after purchasing an additional 8,531 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 82.5% in the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 5,085 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 2,298 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in Southern Copper in the second quarter valued at approximately $5,436,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Inc. OK increased its holdings in Southern Copper by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 277,035 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,028,000 after buying an additional 3,449 shares during the period. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.