Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $127.91 target price on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Scotiabank restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $148.74 price target (up from $146.75) on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Bank of America cut Southern Copper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $162.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and eight have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $139.99.

Southern Copper Trading Down 4.6%

Shares of Southern Copper stock opened at $152.41 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.89, a quick ratio of 3.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $191.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $151.30. Southern Copper has a 12-month low of $74.84 and a 12-month high of $223.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.65, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.03.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.73 billion. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 41.97% and a net margin of 32.30%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. Analysts predict that Southern Copper will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lerdo De Tejada Leon Contreras sold 9,326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.56, for a total transaction of $1,954,344.91. Following the transaction, the director owned 605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $126,783.04. This represents a 93.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 193 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.60, for a total value of $33,697.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $298,042.20. The trade was a 10.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,526 shares of company stock worth $1,989,373. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern Copper

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SCCO. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Southern Copper in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,976,000. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Southern Copper by 4.3% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 941,712 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $95,273,000 after purchasing an additional 38,856 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Southern Copper by 5.7% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 148,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,778,000 after purchasing an additional 7,995 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Southern Copper by 2,631.9% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 13,441 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,631,000 after purchasing an additional 12,949 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Southern Copper by 54.2% in the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 35,647 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,326,000 after purchasing an additional 12,532 shares during the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.