Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Reduce" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Southern Copper Corporation has received an average rating of "Reduce" from seven brokerages, with three analysts recommending a sell and four a hold.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.01 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 4.0%.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Southern Copper by 10.8% in the second quarter, now owning approximately 1.72 million shares valued at about $174 million.

Shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Reduce" from the seven research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $93.60.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SCCO. UBS Group cut Southern Copper from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $105.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen cut Southern Copper from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $99.00 target price (up previously from $86.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Itau BBA Securities raised Southern Copper from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Southern Copper from $79.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd.

Southern Copper Trading Up 0.6%

Southern Copper stock traded up $0.61 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $103.59. The stock had a trading volume of 1,421,092 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,405,462. Southern Copper has a twelve month low of $74.84 and a twelve month high of $121.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.29 billion, a PE ratio of 22.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 4.51 and a current ratio of 5.27. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $98.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.09.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a $1.01 dividend. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. This is a boost from Southern Copper's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Southern Copper's dividend payout ratio is 70.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 414 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $41,400.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at $232,700. This trade represents a 15.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 1,028 shares of company stock valued at $102,014 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the first quarter worth about $2,637,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the first quarter worth about $337,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Southern Copper by 35.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 906 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Novem Group increased its position in shares of Southern Copper by 34.4% during the first quarter. Novem Group now owns 10,758 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,005,000 after acquiring an additional 2,754 shares during the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is 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.