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 and lead. It operates the Toquepala and Cuajone open-pit mines, and a smelter and refinery in Peru; and La Caridad, an open-pit copper mine, as well as a copper ore concentrator, a SX-EW plant, a smelter, refinery, and a rod plant in Mexico. The company also operates Buenavista, an open-pit copper mine, as well as two copper concentrators and two operating SX-EW plants in Mexico. In addition, it operates five underground mines that produce zinc, lead, copper, silver, and gold; a coal mine that produces coal and coke; and a zinc refinery. The company has interests in 82,134 hectares of exploration concessions in Peru; 493,533 hectares of exploration concessions in Mexico; 246,346 hectares of exploration concessions in Argentina; 29,888 hectares of exploration concessions in Chile; and 7,299 hectares of exploration concessions in Ecuador. Southern Copper Corporation was incorporated in 1952 and is based in Phoenix, Arizona. Southern Copper Corporation operates as a subsidiary of Americas Mining Corporation.
Southern Copper Trading Up 0.4 %
NYSE:SCCO traded up $0.20 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $48.78. The stock had a trading volume of 986 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,502,804. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 2.58 and a current ratio of 3.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.13. Southern Copper has a one year low of $44.70 and a one year high of $79.32. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.88.
Southern Copper Cuts Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 11th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.15%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 10th. Southern Copper's payout ratio is currently 79.37%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on SCCO shares. Citigroup lowered Southern Copper from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 13th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Southern Copper to $50.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 9th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Southern Copper from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Friday, August 5th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $66.00 to $52.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern Copper currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $53.80.