Wall Street Zen Upgrades Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) to “Buy”

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Sunday.

SCCO has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $155.00 price target on shares of Southern Copper and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up from $89.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $143.00 target price (up from $135.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Southern Copper from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern Copper currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $123.85.

Southern Copper Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of NYSE:SCCO opened at $145.24 on Friday. Southern Copper has a 52-week low of $74.84 and a 52-week high of $152.19. The company has a market capitalization of $117.96 billion, a PE ratio of 30.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a current ratio of 4.52. The company has a fifty day moving average of $136.81 and a 200-day moving average of $116.28.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Southern Copper will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director directly owned 1,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $175,835. This represents a 24.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 948 shares of company stock worth $131,130. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Southern Copper

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SCCO. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Southern Copper during the third quarter worth $25,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Tobam bought a new position in Southern Copper in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. United Community Bank bought a new position in Southern Copper in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in Southern Copper during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

About Southern Copper

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.