Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Given New $110.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Key Points

• UBS Group has raised its price target for Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) from $100.00 to $110.00, indicating a potential upside of 1.21% from current levels, while maintaining a "neutral" rating on the stock.
• Investment ratings vary among brokers, with Morgan Stanley maintaining an "underweight" rating and a $99.00 target, while JPMorgan Chase upgraded its target from $79.00 to $92.00 while also rating the stock as "neutral".
• Southern Copper's stock is currently trading at $108.68, reflecting a 1.3% increase, and has a market cap of approximately $87.39 billion.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by stock analysts at UBS Group from $100.00 to $110.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the basic materials company's stock. UBS Group's price target points to a potential downside of 0.05% from the company's previous close.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Southern Copper from $79.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Itau BBA Securities upgraded Southern Copper from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $99.00 target price (up previously from $86.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $89.00 price objective on Southern Copper and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $93.67.

Southern Copper Price Performance

Shares of SCCO traded up $2.79 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $110.05. 2,267,230 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,273,643. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 4.51 and a current ratio of 5.27. Southern Copper has a 52 week low of $74.84 and a 52 week high of $121.44. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $98.74 and a 200-day moving average of $95.17. The stock has a market cap of $88.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.08, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.99.

Insider Activity at Southern Copper

In other news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 414 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 owned 2,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at $232,700. This represents a 15.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,228 shares of company stock worth $123,102. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Southern Copper

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in Southern Copper in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,637,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern Copper in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Southern Copper during the 1st quarter worth $337,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 236 shares during the period. Finally, Novem Group grew its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 34.4% in the 1st quarter. Novem Group now owns 10,758 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,005,000 after purchasing an additional 2,754 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.94% of the company's stock.

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.