Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Trading Up 6% - What's Next?

Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $102.39 and last traded at $102.90. 218,657 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 1,193,373 shares. The stock had previously closed at $97.08.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Southern Copper from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. 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. Itau BBA Securities upgraded Southern Copper from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Southern Copper from $84.00 to $83.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southern Copper from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern Copper has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $91.50.

Southern Copper Trading Up 7.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 3.71 and a quick ratio of 3.22. The company has a market capitalization of $83.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $92.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.03.

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

Southern Copper Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 19th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Southern Copper's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.27%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern Copper

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its position in shares of Southern Copper by 117.6% during the first quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 272 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern Copper during the first quarter worth $29,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new stake in Southern Copper in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Southern Copper in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position 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 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.