Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Hits New 12-Month High at $127.34

Shares of Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $127.34 and last traded at $127.10, with a volume of 155825 shares. The stock had previously closed at $125.35.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SCCO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Southern Copper from $63.50 to $61.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised Southern Copper from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $91.00 to $130.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Southern Copper from $61.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on Southern Copper from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "sector underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $90.50.

Southern Copper Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 3.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.66. The stock has a market cap of $101.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.82, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.27.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $2.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. Southern Copper had a net margin of 24.20% and a return on equity of 30.44%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Southern Copper Co. will post 3.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be paid a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 7th. Southern Copper's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 1.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern Copper

In related news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 300 shares of Southern Copper stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $35,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,614 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $546,759. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 600 shares of company stock worth $63,430 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern Copper

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Southern Copper by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 80,682 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $6,075,000 after purchasing an additional 5,296 shares during the period. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern Copper in the fourth quarter worth $1,668,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Southern Copper by 378.9% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 166,398 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $14,322,000 after purchasing an additional 131,651 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Southern Copper by 119.8% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 41,223 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,548,000 after buying an additional 22,471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Southern Copper by 8,523.8% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 172,907 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $14,882,000 after buying an additional 170,902 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 7.94% of the company's stock.

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.