Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) Given Average Recommendation of "Reduce" by Brokerages

Shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Reduce" by the seven brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $91.50.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Hsbc Global Res raised Southern Copper from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Southern Copper from $52.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector underperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wall Street Zen cut Southern Copper from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Itau BBA Securities raised Southern Copper from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Southern Copper from $84.00 to $83.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern Copper

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its stake in Southern Copper by 117.6% during the first quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 272 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the first quarter worth $29,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 210.7% during the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 379 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.94% of the company's stock.

Southern Copper Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of SCCO opened at $93.51 on Friday. Southern Copper has a 52 week low of $74.11 and a 52 week high of $118.64. The company has a quick ratio of 3.22, a current ratio of 3.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $74.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.46, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.01. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $91.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.07.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 39.39% and a net margin of 30.00%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Southern Copper will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Southern Copper Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a yield of 2.98%. Southern Copper's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.27%.

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.

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