Antofagasta plc (LON:ANTO) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Antofagasta plc (LON:ANTO) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is GBX 2,185 ($28.29).

Several brokerages recently commented on ANTO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a GBX 2,400 ($31.07) target price on shares of Antofagasta in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Antofagasta from GBX 2,800 ($36.25) to GBX 2,500 ($32.37) and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 2,125 ($27.51) price target on shares of Antofagasta in a research report on Monday, March 3rd.

Antofagasta Stock Performance

LON ANTO opened at GBX 1,779.25 ($23.04) on Friday. Antofagasta has a fifty-two week low of GBX 1,567.50 ($20.29) and a fifty-two week high of GBX 2,425 ($31.40). The firm’s fifty day moving average price is GBX 1,794.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is GBX 1,766.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 65.33, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a current ratio of 2.14. The stock has a market cap of £21.92 billion, a PE ratio of 28.68, a PEG ratio of -1.08 and a beta of 1.00.

Antofagasta Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.93%. This is an increase from Antofagasta’s previous dividend of $0.08. Antofagasta’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.91%.

About Antofagasta

Antofagasta plc is a copper mining group with significant by-product production and interests in transportation. The Group creates value for its stakeholders through the discovery, development and operation of copper mines. The Group is committed to generating value in a safe and sustainable way throughout the commodity cycle.