Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Monday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on SCCO. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Southern Copper from $61.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $63.50 to $61.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Southern Copper from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “sector underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. CICC Research assumed coverage on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $91.00 to $130.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern Copper has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.57.

Southern Copper Trading Down 3.5 %

NYSE SCCO opened at $116.67 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $101.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 2.46 and a current ratio of 3.19. Southern Copper has a twelve month low of $64.66 and a twelve month high of $121.00. The stock has a market cap of $90.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.38, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.29.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.15). Southern Copper had a return on equity of 30.29% and a net margin of 24.20%. The company had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.37 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Southern Copper will post 3.95 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $35,550.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,614 shares in the company, valued at approximately $546,759. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 600 shares of company stock valued at $63,430 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern Copper

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hartford Financial Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Southern Copper in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 302 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Viking Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Southern Copper by 164.8% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 482 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Copper Company Profile

Southern Copper Corporation engages in mining, exploring, smelting, and refining copper and other minerals in Peru, Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador, and Chile. The company is involved in the mining, milling, and flotation of copper ore to produce copper and molybdenum concentrates; smelting of copper concentrates to produce blister and anode copper; refining of anode copper to produce copper cathodes; production of molybdenum concentrate and sulfuric acid; production of refined silver, gold, and other materials; and mining and processing of zinc, copper, molybdenum, silver, gold, and lead.