Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) PT Lowered to $54.00 at Scotiabank

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) had its price objective decreased by Scotiabank from $55.00 to $54.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Scotiabank currently has a sector underperform rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on SCCO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Southern Copper from $63.50 to $61.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Southern Copper from $61.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Southern Copper from a hold rating to a buy rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $91.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. StockNews.com raised Southern Copper from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, HSBC downgraded Southern Copper from a hold rating to a reduce rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $90.33.

Southern Copper Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SCCO opened at $117.56 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.31, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Southern Copper has a 1 year low of $64.85 and a 1 year high of $129.79. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $113.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.08. The firm has a market cap of $91.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.27.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.17. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 30.44% and a net margin of 24.20%. The business had revenue of $2.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Southern Copper will post 3.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.03%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 7th. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 1.33%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $35,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,614 shares in the company, valued at approximately $546,759. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold 600 shares of company stock worth $63,430 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern Copper

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fortis Group Advisors LLC increased its stake in Southern Copper by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 302 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the first quarter worth $26,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the first quarter worth $27,000. Viking Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 164.8% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 482 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.