Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Shares Gap Down to $114.08

Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $114.08, but opened at $110.00. Southern Copper shares last traded at $111.49, with a volume of 250,351 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $91.00 to $130.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. StockNews.com lowered Southern Copper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Southern Copper from $63.50 to $61.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Southern Copper from $61.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.83.

Southern Copper Stock Up 0.3 %

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $95.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 3.19 and a quick ratio of 2.46.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.15). Southern Copper had a return on equity of 30.85% and a net margin of 24.51%. The business had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.37 billion. On average, analysts predict that Southern Copper Co. will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Copper Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 13th were issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 12th. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.91%.

Institutional Trading of Southern Copper

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SCCO. Wahed Invest LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 1,451 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $125,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Southern Copper by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,227 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $373,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. First National Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 37,134 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,196,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Southern Copper by 100.0% during the fourth 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 during the period. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Southern Copper

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.