HSBC Downgrades Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) to Reduce

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) was downgraded by analysts at HSBC from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note issued on Monday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $80.00 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock. HSBC’s target price would suggest a potential downside of 27.05% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on SCCO. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $91.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. StockNews.com lowered Southern Copper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Southern Copper from $63.50 to $61.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Scotiabank increased their price target on Southern Copper from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “sector underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Southern Copper from $61.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $76.00.

Southern Copper Stock Down 1.7 %

NYSE SCCO opened at $109.66 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 2.46 and a current ratio of 3.19. The company has a market capitalization of $84.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.29. Southern Copper has a one year low of $64.66 and a one year high of $120.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $97.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.90.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.37 billion. Southern Copper had a net margin of 24.51% and a return on equity of 30.85%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Southern Copper will post 3.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Southern Copper

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Southern Copper by 7.0% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 80,682 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,075,000 after purchasing an additional 5,296 shares during the period. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the fourth quarter valued at $1,668,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 119.8% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 41,223 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,548,000 after buying an additional 22,471 shares during the period. Viking Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 17.5% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 687,501 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $51,854,000 after buying an additional 102,286 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.