Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Analyst Says

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) had its target price increased by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $114.50 to $119.50 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective points to a potential downside of 15.11% from the stock’s current price.

SCCO has been the topic of several other reports. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $143.00 price target (up from $135.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Friday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up previously from $89.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $138.00 price objective on shares of Southern Copper and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Citigroup restated a “sell” rating and set a $108.00 price objective (up previously from $89.10) on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and four have assigned 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 $122.83.

Southern Copper Price Performance

Southern Copper stock traded down $0.69 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $140.76. 350,504 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,445,416. Southern Copper has a 12-month low of $74.84 and a 12-month high of $149.75. The company has a market cap of $114.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.44, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $134.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $113.25. 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 released its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $3.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 38.74% and a net margin of 30.98%. Equities analysts forecast that Southern Copper will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 400 shares of Southern Copper stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.00, for a total transaction of $55,600.00. Following the sale, the director owned 1,265 shares in the company, valued at $175,835. This trade represents a 24.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold 948 shares of company stock valued at $131,130 in the last 90 days. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern Copper

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SCCO. Mirabella Financial Services LLP acquired a new stake in Southern Copper in the third quarter valued at approximately $284,000. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 27.9% during the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 8,823 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,071,000 after acquiring an additional 1,927 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Southern Copper by 62.5% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares in the last quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA acquired a new position in shares of Southern Copper in the 3rd quarter valued at $205,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC lifted its position in Southern Copper by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 4,652 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $565,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares during the period. 7.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.