Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Southern Copper from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Southern Copper from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $178.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $171.00 price target on Southern Copper and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America downgraded Southern Copper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $162.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Southern Copper from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Two 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $144.43.

Southern Copper Trading Down 6.2%

Shares of SCCO stock opened at $176.80 on Friday. Southern Copper has a twelve month low of $88.54 and a twelve month high of $223.88. The company 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $179.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $168.09. The company has a current ratio of 4.38, a quick ratio of 3.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.96 billion. Southern Copper had a net margin of 34.13% and a return on equity of 45.63%. Research analysts forecast that Southern Copper will post 6.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 193 shares of Southern Copper stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.60, for a total value of $33,697.80. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,707 shares in the company, valued at $298,042.20. This trade represents a 10.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Southern Copper in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Southern Copper during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new stake in Southern Copper during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Southern Copper during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, United Community Bank acquired a new stake in Southern Copper during the third quarter valued at $30,000. 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.