Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Reaches New 52-Week High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Southern Copper Corporation's shares have reached a new 52-week high, trading at $121.49, reflecting an increase from a previous closing price of $110.26.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.62 to $1.01 per share, indicating a dividend yield of 3.4%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Southern Copper, with some predicting growth while others maintain a cautious approach, leading to an average target price of $93.67.

Shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $121.49 and last traded at $119.50, with a volume of 5791699 shares. The stock had previously closed at $110.26.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on SCCO. Itau BBA Securities raised shares of Southern Copper from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Southern Copper from $79.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Friday, September 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $89.00 price objective on Southern Copper and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $99.00 price objective (up previously from $86.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $93.67.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

The business's 50-day moving average price is $99.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $95.58. 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 has a market cap of $96.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.99.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $1.01 per share. This is a boost from Southern Copper's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Southern Copper's dividend payout ratio is presently 70.02%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 414 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $41,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $232,700. The trade was a 15.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,228 shares of company stock worth $123,102. Insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern Copper

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in shares of Southern Copper in the first quarter worth approximately $2,637,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Southern Copper in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southern Copper in the first quarter worth about $337,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 35.2% in 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 period. Finally, Novem Group boosted its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 34.4% in 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 period. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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