Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Trading Up 5.3%

Shares of Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) were up 5.3% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $116.25 and last traded at $115.78. Approximately 197,278 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 1,196,408 shares. The stock had previously closed at $109.94.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SCCO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $91.00 to $130.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Southern Copper from $61.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $81.70 to $100.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Southern Copper from $63.50 to $61.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, CICC Research started coverage on Southern Copper in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern Copper currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.50.

Southern Copper Trading Up 5.4 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $114.37 and a 200-day moving average of $99.38. The company has a market capitalization of $90.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 3.31, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $2.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Southern Copper had a net margin of 24.20% and a return on equity of 30.44%. On average, research analysts predict that Southern Copper Co. will post 4.45 EPS for the current year.

Southern Copper Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 8th were issued a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 7th. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is currently 1.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern Copper

In other news, Director PALOMINO BONILLA LUIS MIGUEL sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.30, for a total value of $425,880.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $261,916.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director PALOMINO BONILLA LUIS MIGUEL sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.30, for a total value of $425,880.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,214 shares in the company, valued at $261,916.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $35,550.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $546,759. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,000 shares of company stock valued at $472,430 over the last ninety days. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern Copper

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC increased its position in Southern Copper by 222.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 35,187 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,649,000 after acquiring an additional 24,264 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in Southern Copper by 22.1% in the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 89,468 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,736,000 after purchasing an additional 16,168 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in Southern Copper by 2.3% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 33,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,501,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 10.4% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 29,783 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,242,000 after buying an additional 2,800 shares during the period. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the third quarter valued at approximately $456,000. 7.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.