Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on SCCO. Scotiabank reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Citigroup restated a “sell” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Itau BBA Securities cut shares of Southern Copper from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $124.94 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $127.91 price target on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and eight have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern Copper presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $139.99.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

Southern Copper stock opened at $152.41 on Friday. Southern Copper has a 12-month low of $74.84 and a 12-month high of $223.88. The company has a quick ratio of 3.40, a current ratio of 3.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $191.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $152.05. The stock has a market cap of $124.84 billion, a PE ratio of 28.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.03.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.01. Southern Copper had a net margin of 32.30% and a return on equity of 41.97%. The firm had revenue of $3.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Southern Copper will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 193 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.60, for a total value of $33,697.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $298,042.20. This represents a 10.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Lerdo De Tejada Leon Contreras sold 9,326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director directly owned 605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $126,783.04. The trade was a 93.91% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 9,526 shares of company stock worth $1,989,373 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Southern Copper by 36.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,437,608 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $781,268,000 after buying an additional 1,708,693 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Southern Copper by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,862,244 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $410,646,000 after acquiring an additional 66,268 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,536,228 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $363,873,000 after acquiring an additional 7,194 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 10.8% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,719,883 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $174,002,000 after acquiring an additional 168,005 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Southern Copper by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,181,293 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $169,480,000 after acquiring an additional 90,237 shares during the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is 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.