Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Sunday.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $108.00 price objective (up from $89.10) on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $115.00 price target (up previously from $89.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $144.00 price target on Southern Copper and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Itau BBA Securities downgraded shares of Southern Copper from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $126.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Southern Copper and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern Copper currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $123.85.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

Shares of SCCO opened at $149.49 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $121.42 billion, a PE ratio of 31.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $136.61 and a 200-day moving average of $115.79. Southern Copper has a one year low of $74.84 and a one year high of $152.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 4.52 and a quick ratio of 3.91.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.09. Southern Copper had a net margin of 30.98% and a return on equity of 38.74%. The company had revenue of $3.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Southern Copper will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 400 shares of Southern Copper stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.00, for a total value of $55,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,265 shares in the company, valued at $175,835. The trade was a 24.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 948 shares of company stock worth $131,130 over the last 90 days. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern Copper

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCCO. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. boosted its stake in Southern Copper by 65.1% in the third quarter. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. now owns 213 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in Southern Copper in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. United Community Bank acquired a new position in Southern Copper during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Tobam acquired a new position in Southern Copper during the second quarter worth about $29,000. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Copper Company Profile

Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE: SCCO) is a large, integrated copper producer whose operations span the full value chain from exploration and mining to smelting, refining and the sale of copper and other metal products. The company produces a range of copper products including copper concentrate and refined cathodes, and recovers valuable byproducts such as molybdenum, silver and zinc. Southern Copper concentrates on high-volume, long-life assets designed to support steady production and processing capabilities.

Southern Copper’s operations are concentrated in Peru and Mexico, where it owns and operates multiple large-scale mining and processing facilities.