Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The basic materials company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by ($0.01), Zacks reports. Southern Copper had a net margin of 27.67% and a return on equity of 37.11%.

Southern Copper Price Performance

NYSE SCCO traded up $1.98 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $94.07. 405,328 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,115,673. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 2.77 and a quick ratio of 2.31. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $95.50 and its 200-day moving average is $102.18. Southern Copper has a 52-week low of $77.42 and a 52-week high of $129.79. The company has a market capitalization of $73.89 billion, a PE ratio of 24.19, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.13.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. This is a boost from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 11th. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is 72.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on SCCO shares. Morgan Stanley raised Southern Copper from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $106.30 to $102.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Southern Copper from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $92.50 price target for the company in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Southern Copper from $54.00 to $52.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.81.

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.