Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Shares Gap Down to $114.08

Shares of Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $114.08, but opened at $110.00. Southern Copper shares last traded at $111.49, with a volume of 250,351 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on SCCO shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Southern Copper from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southern Copper from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $91.00 to $130.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Southern Copper from $63.50 to $61.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Southern Copper from $61.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $76.83.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $94.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 2.46, a current ratio of 3.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.15). Southern Copper had a return on equity of 30.85% and a net margin of 24.51%. The company had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.37 billion. Analysts expect that Southern Copper Co. will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 13th were issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 12th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. Southern Copper's dividend payout ratio is currently 101.91%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern Copper

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Southern Copper by 7.0% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Southern Copper by 119.8% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 41,223 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,548,000 after purchasing an additional 22,471 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Southern Copper by 17.5% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 687,501 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $51,854,000 after purchasing an additional 102,286 shares in the last quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern Copper in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Southern Copper by 22.1% in the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 89,468 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $6,736,000 after purchasing an additional 16,168 shares in the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Copper Company Profile

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.