Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $156.00 price target on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Friday. Citigroup reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Monday, January 12th. HSBC reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $118.00 price target (up previously from $105.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group set a $148.00 price objective on Southern Copper and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and seven have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $137.45.

Southern Copper Stock Up 1.2%

NYSE:SCCO opened at $192.60 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $156.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.06. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $157.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $129.47. Southern Copper has a 52-week low of $74.84 and a 52-week high of $218.81.

Southern Copper shares are going to split on the morning of Tuesday, February 10th. The 1.0085-1 split was recently announced. The newly minted shares will be issued to shareholders after the market closes on Monday, February 9th.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 10th. This is a positive change from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is presently 83.86%.

Insider Activity at Southern Copper

In other news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.00, for a total transaction of $55,600.00. Following the sale, the director owned 1,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $175,835. This trade represents a 24.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 648 shares of company stock worth $90,070 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Southern Copper

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Southern Copper by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 941,712 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $95,273,000 after buying an additional 38,856 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the third quarter valued at about $2,976,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 7,995 shares in the last quarter. James Investment Research Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southern Copper in the third quarter valued at about $791,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its position in Southern Copper by 82.5% during the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 5,085 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $514,000 after acquiring an additional 2,298 shares during the period. 7.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.