Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) Given Consensus Rating of "Reduce" by Brokerages

Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $91.00.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on SCCO shares. UBS Group lowered shares of Southern Copper from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $105.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern Copper from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Southern Copper from $83.50 to $79.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Itau BBA Securities raised shares of Southern Copper from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Southern Copper from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SCCO. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 117.6% in the first quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 272 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern Copper during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new position in Southern Copper during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern Copper in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.94% of the company's stock.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

Shares of Southern Copper stock traded down $0.06 during trading on Thursday, hitting $96.45. 921,749 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,253,580. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $96.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.02. Southern Copper has a 1-year low of $74.11 and a 1-year high of $118.64.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $1.19 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 39.39% and a net margin of 30.00%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Southern Copper will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Dividend Announcement

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