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

Shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Reduce" by the seven research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $91.50.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group decreased their target price on Southern Copper from $120.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Southern Copper from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Itau BBA Securities upgraded shares of Southern Copper from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southern Copper from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Southern Copper from $52.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "sector underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern Copper

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SCCO. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its position in Southern Copper by 117.6% in the 1st quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 272 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Southern Copper during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Copper Stock Up 0.3%

Southern Copper stock traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $97.22. 1,133,850 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,196,920. Southern Copper has a 1-year low of $74.11 and a 1-year high of $118.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $92.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.00. The company has a current ratio of 3.71, a quick ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $77.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Southern Copper Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a dividend yield of 2.98%. Southern Copper's payout ratio is 61.27%.

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.