Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) Receives $97.31 Average Target Price from Analysts

Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) has earned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the nine analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $97.31.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on SCCO shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded Southern Copper from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $106.30 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Southern Copper from $52.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. UBS Group upgraded Southern Copper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Southern Copper from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $92.50 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, December 2nd.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

NYSE SCCO opened at $99.28 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.98, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.12. Southern Copper has a fifty-two week low of $84.33 and a fifty-two week high of $127.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a current ratio of 2.77.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by ($0.01). Southern Copper had a net margin of 29.53% and a return on equity of 40.27%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Southern Copper will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 11th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. This is a boost from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.81%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern Copper

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SCCO. Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 30.8% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 7,620 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $881,000 after buying an additional 1,796 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Southern Copper by 33.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,693 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,121,000 after buying an additional 2,442 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Southern Copper by 4.9% during the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,868 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,257,000 after buying an additional 503 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 38.9% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,163 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $366,000 after acquiring an additional 886 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,289,000. 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.