Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Earns Underweight Rating from JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO)‘s stock had its “underweight” rating reaffirmed by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $117.50 target price on the basic materials company’s stock, down from their previous target price of $119.50. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price points to a potential downside of 33.32% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $182.00 price objective on Southern Copper and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group set a $148.00 price target on Southern Copper and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. HSBC reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective (up from $105.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, January 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and set a $129.00 price objective on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and seven have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $129.35.

Southern Copper Stock Down 4.3%

Shares of NYSE SCCO opened at $176.22 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $143.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.06. Southern Copper has a 52 week low of $74.84 and a 52 week high of $191.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $148.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.52. The company has a quick ratio of 3.91, a current ratio of 4.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern Copper

In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 400 shares of Southern Copper stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.00, for a total value of $55,600.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,265 shares in the company, valued at $175,835. This trade represents a 24.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 948 shares of company stock valued at $131,130. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SCCO. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Southern Copper during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 65.1% in the 3rd quarter. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. now owns 213 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. United Community Bank acquired a new stake in Southern Copper during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Tobam purchased a new position in Southern Copper in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 7.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.