UBS Group Cuts Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Price Target to $140.00

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) had its price target decreased by UBS Group from $150.00 to $140.00 in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a sell rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on SCCO. Itau BBA Securities downgraded shares of Southern Copper from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $124.94 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $116.51 price objective (down from $118.49) on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $190.38 target price on shares of Southern Copper and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and eight have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $139.20.

Southern Copper Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE SCCO opened at $161.91 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $132.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.43, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $189.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $154.17. Southern Copper has a 52 week low of $74.84 and a 52 week high of $223.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 3.40 and a current ratio of 3.89.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.01. Southern Copper had a net margin of 32.30% and a return on equity of 41.97%. The firm had revenue of $3.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Southern Copper will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. This is a boost from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.19%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 193 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.60, for a total transaction of $33,697.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $298,042.20. The trade was a 10.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Lerdo De Tejada Leon Contreras sold 9,326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.56, for a total transaction of $1,954,344.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $126,783.04. This trade represents a 93.91% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 9,526 shares of company stock worth $1,989,373 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern Copper

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southern Copper in the third quarter valued at $2,976,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Southern Copper by 5.7% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 148,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $17,778,000 after buying an additional 7,995 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Southern Copper by 2,631.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 13,441 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,631,000 after acquiring an additional 12,949 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Southern Copper by 159.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,308 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,251,000 after purchasing an additional 6,341 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.