Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Price Target Raised to $119.50

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) had its price objective lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $114.50 to $119.50 in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $143.00 target price (up from $135.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 6th. Citigroup restated a “sell” rating and set a $108.00 price target (up from $89.10) on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Southern Copper from $121.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $122.83.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

NYSE SCCO opened at $144.15 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $134.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $113.96. The company has a current ratio of 4.52, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Southern Copper has a twelve month low of $74.84 and a twelve month high of $149.75. The company has a market capitalization of $117.08 billion, a PE ratio of 30.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.07.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $3.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Southern Copper had a net margin of 30.98% and a return on equity of 38.74%. On average, research analysts predict that Southern Copper will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Copper Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th were given a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.00, for a total value of $55,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,265 shares in the company, valued at $175,835. This represents a 24.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 948 shares of company stock worth $131,130. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Southern Copper by 4.3% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 941,712 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $95,273,000 after buying an additional 38,856 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 6.5% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 82.5% in the 2nd 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. acquired a new position in shares of Southern Copper in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,436,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Inc. OK raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 3,449 shares in the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.