Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Earns “Sell” Rating from UBS Group

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO)‘s stock had its “sell” rating reiterated by UBS Group in a research note issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $148.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 16.01% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on SCCO. Citigroup reissued a “sell” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $138.00 price objective on Southern Copper and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Itau BBA Securities cut Southern Copper from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $126.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, HSBC reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $118.00 price target (up from $105.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $129.55.

Southern Copper Price Performance

Southern Copper stock opened at $176.22 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $148.32 and its 200 day moving average is $124.52. Southern Copper has a one year low of $74.84 and a one year high of $191.22. The firm has a market cap of $143.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.06. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $3.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Southern Copper had a net margin of 30.98% and a return on equity of 38.74%. As a group, research analysts expect that Southern Copper will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.00, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 948 shares of company stock valued at $131,130 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern Copper

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Southern Copper by 36.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,437,608 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $781,268,000 after purchasing an additional 1,708,693 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the second quarter worth about $57,901,000. HRT Financial LP bought a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the second quarter worth about $29,771,000. Man Group plc raised its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 65.4% in the 2nd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 467,119 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,258,000 after acquiring an additional 184,641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in Southern Copper by 54.6% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 505,284 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $61,321,000 after acquiring an additional 178,350 shares in the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Southern Copper

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.