Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Shares Gap Up to $116.95

Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $116.95, but opened at $120.00. Southern Copper shares last traded at $117.86, with a volume of 144,977 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on SCCO shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $91.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. StockNews.com lowered Southern Copper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Southern Copper from $63.50 to $61.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Southern Copper from $61.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.83.

Southern Copper Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 3.19, a quick ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market cap of $90.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.25, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $92.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.53.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.37 billion. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 30.85% and a net margin of 24.51%. Equities analysts anticipate that Southern Copper Co. will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Copper Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 13th were issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 12th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.91%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern Copper

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wahed Invest LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 1,451 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $125,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Southern Copper by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,227 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its position in Southern Copper by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. First National Trust Co boosted its position in Southern Copper by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 37,134 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,196,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC boosted its position in Southern Copper by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 302 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. 7.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Copper Company Profile

Southern Copper Corporation engages in mining, exploring, smelting, and refining copper and other minerals in Peru, Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador, and Chile. The company is involved in the mining, milling, and flotation of copper ore to produce copper and molybdenum concentrates; smelting of copper concentrates to produce blister and anode copper; refining of anode copper to produce copper cathodes; production of molybdenum concentrate and sulfuric acid; production of refined silver, gold, and other materials; and mining and processing of zinc, copper, molybdenum, silver, gold, and lead.