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

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $190.38 price objective on shares of Southern Copper and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. 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. Itau BBA Securities lowered Southern Copper from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $124.94 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Zacks Research downgraded Southern Copper from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $148.74 price target (up from $146.75) on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and eight have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $139.99.

Southern Copper Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of SCCO opened at $217.88 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $176.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.96, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $180.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $142.63. Southern Copper has a 52-week low of $74.84 and a 52-week high of $223.89.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 10th. This is a positive change from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is currently 75.19%.

Insider Activity

In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 1,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $175,731.28. This represents a 24.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Lerdo De Tejada Leon Contreras sold 9,326 shares of Southern Copper stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director directly owned 605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $126,783.04. This represents a 93.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Southern Copper

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Southern Copper in the 3rd quarter worth $2,976,000. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 38,856 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 7,995 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 12,949 shares during the period. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 54.2% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 35,647 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,326,000 after buying an additional 12,532 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

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.