Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Shares Gap Down to $113.43

Shares of Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $113.43, but opened at $109.10. Southern Copper shares last traded at $110.79, with a volume of 569,069 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SCCO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Southern Copper from $63.50 to $61.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Southern Copper from $61.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. StockNews.com lowered Southern Copper from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Southern Copper from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $91.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on Southern Copper from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "sector underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $76.00.

Southern Copper Trading Down 1.6 %

The firm has a market cap of $86.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.54, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $97.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.65. 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 issued its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.37 billion. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 30.85% and a net margin of 24.51%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Southern Copper Co. will post 3.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 13th were given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 12th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Southern Copper's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.91%.

Institutional Trading of Southern Copper

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SCCO. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the fourth quarter worth $71,802,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 677.0% during the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 310,500 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $23,378,000 after acquiring an additional 270,540 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 8,523.8% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 172,907 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $14,882,000 after acquiring an additional 170,902 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 378.9% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 166,398 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $14,322,000 after acquiring an additional 131,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 17.5% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 687,501 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $51,854,000 after acquiring an additional 102,286 shares in the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.