Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) Receives Average Recommendation of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $121.6111.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SCCO. 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 research report on Wednesday, October 29th. HSBC reissued a “hold” rating and set a $118.00 price objective (up previously from $105.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Monday, December 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $92.00 to $114.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $132.00 price objective on shares of Southern Copper and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th.

Southern Copper Trading Down 3.5%

NYSE:SCCO opened at $142.42 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $133.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $112.20. The stock has a market cap of $115.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 4.52, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Southern Copper has a 12 month low of $74.84 and a 12 month high of $149.75.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.09. Southern Copper had a net margin of 30.98% and a return on equity of 38.74%. The company had revenue of $3.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Equities analysts predict that Southern Copper will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Southern Copper Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 12th were paid a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 400 shares of Southern Copper stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.00, for a total transaction of $55,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $175,835. The trade was a 24.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders sold 948 shares of company stock worth $131,130. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern Copper

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SCCO. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd raised its position in shares of Southern Copper by 27.9% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 8,823 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,071,000 after purchasing an additional 1,927 shares during 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 purchased a new position in Southern Copper in the third quarter worth about $205,000. Advisory Services Network LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 11.7% in the third quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 4,652 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $565,000 after buying an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenline Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 6.1% during the third quarter. Greenline Partners LLC now owns 107,906 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,095,000 after buying an additional 6,191 shares during the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.