Analysts Set Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) PT at $144.25

Shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) have received a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $144.4297.

SCCO has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Southern Copper from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Southern Copper from $117.50 to $127.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Southern Copper from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $178.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Southern Copper from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Southern Copper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday.

Southern Copper Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:SCCO opened at $176.80 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $144.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.22, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 3.89 and a current ratio of 4.38. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $179.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $168.35. Southern Copper has a 52-week low of $88.54 and a 52-week high of $223.88.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.96 billion. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 45.63% and a net margin of 34.13%. Analysts expect that Southern Copper will post 6.97 EPS for the current year.

Southern Copper Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is presently 66.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern Copper

In other news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 193 shares of Southern Copper stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.60, for a total transaction of $33,697.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $298,042.20. The trade was a 10.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 32,315 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,560,000 after buying an additional 1,509 shares in the last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 86,082 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,811,000 after buying an additional 5,951 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 15.3% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 51,044 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,783,000 after buying an additional 6,789 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Southern Copper during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $244,000. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its stake in Southern Copper by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 8,525 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,467,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. 7.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.