Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Analyst Says

Key Points

• JPMorgan raised its price target on Southern Copper to $131.50 from $127, but kept an underweight rating, implying about 33.84% downside from the current price.
• Other analysts remain cautious on SCCO: recent calls included underperform, sell, and underweight ratings, while MarketBeat shows an average rating of Reduce with a consensus target of $145.94.
• Southern Copper reported better-than-expected Q1 results, posting $1.92 EPS on $4.25 billion in revenue, and the stock was trading at $198.77 amid strong liquidity and modest debt.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $127.00 to $131.50 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "underweight" rating on the basic materials company's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target indicates a potential downside of 33.84% from the stock's current price.

SCCO has been the topic of several other reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Southern Copper from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Scotiabank reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $140.00 price target (up from $135.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Monday. Barclays began coverage on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Thursday, May 21st. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $148.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group raised their price target on Southern Copper from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Bank of America cut Southern Copper from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $162.00 to $175.00 in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and eight have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $145.94.

Southern Copper Price Performance

NYSE:SCCO traded up $4.24 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $198.77. 226,306 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,800,449. The business's 50-day moving average price is $184.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $176.46. The company has a quick ratio of 3.89, a current ratio of 4.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market cap of $162.81 billion, a PE ratio of 32.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.09. Southern Copper has a 12-month low of $88.73 and a 12-month high of $223.88.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.96 billion. Southern Copper had a net margin of 34.13% and a return on equity of 45.63%. On average, analysts expect that Southern Copper will post 7.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern Copper

In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.82, for a total value of $35,564.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,807 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $321,320.74. The trade was a 9.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last quarter, insiders sold 404 shares of company stock valued at $74,108. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 896.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 50,422 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $8,676,000 after acquiring an additional 45,360 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in Southern Copper by 3.8% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,816 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $829,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. BankChampaign National Association bought a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the 1st quarter valued at about $600,000. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 449,320 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $77,310,000 after purchasing an additional 15,664 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Southern Copper by 41.9% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,646 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $972,000 after purchasing an additional 1,667 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.94% of the company's stock.

About Southern Copper

Southern Copper Corporation NYSE: SCCO is a large, integrated copper producer whose operations span the full value chain from exploration and mining to smelting, refining and the sale of copper and other metal products. The company produces a range of copper products including copper concentrate and refined cathodes, and recovers valuable byproducts such as molybdenum, silver and zinc. Southern Copper concentrates on high-volume, long-life assets designed to support steady production and processing capabilities.

Southern Copper's operations are concentrated in Peru and Mexico, where it owns and operates multiple large-scale mining and processing facilities.

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