Brokerages Set Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) PT at $145.14

Shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) have earned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $145.1439.

Several research firms recently weighed in on SCCO. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Southern Copper from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Southern Copper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $171.00 price objective on shares of Southern Copper and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Southern Copper from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st.

Southern Copper Trading Up 8.4%

SCCO opened at $181.91 on Friday. Southern Copper has a twelve month low of $88.73 and a twelve month high of $223.88. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $183.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.11. The company has a quick ratio of 3.89, a current ratio of 4.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.09.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.04. Southern Copper had a net margin of 34.13% and a return on equity of 45.63%. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.96 billion. Analysts predict that Southern Copper will post 7.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is presently 66.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.82, for a total transaction of $35,564.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $321,320.74. The trade was a 9.97% 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. Insiders sold a total of 404 shares of company stock worth $74,108 over the last three months. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in Southern Copper during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new position in Southern Copper during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Southern Copper during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Southern Copper during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Southern Copper during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Company Profile

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.