Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Downgraded by Bank of America to “Underperform”

Bank of America cut shares of Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCOFree Report) from a neutral rating to an underperform rating in a research report released on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $175.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $162.00.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. UBS Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $148.74 target price (up from $146.75) on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Zacks Research cut Southern Copper from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Itau BBA Securities lowered Southern Copper from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $124.94 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $127.91 price target on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and eight have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $139.99.

Get Our Latest Analysis on SCCO

Southern Copper Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of SCCO opened at $215.74 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $179.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $141.16. The company has a market cap of $175.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 4.52, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Southern Copper has a twelve month low of $74.84 and a twelve month high of $220.76.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 10th. This is an increase from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is 75.19%.

Insider Activity

In other Southern Copper news, Director Lerdo De Tejada Leon Contreras sold 9,326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.56, for a total value of $1,954,344.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $126,783.04. The trade was a 93.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.83, for a total transaction of $55,544.87. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $175,731.28. The trade was a 24.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern Copper

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SCCO. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Southern Copper by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,030 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $865,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al grew its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 6,072 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $871,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,910 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $417,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Southern Copper by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 6,379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $915,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venture Visionary Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Southern Copper by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 6,998 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,004,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Southern Copper News

Here are the key news stories impacting Southern Copper this week:

About Southern Copper

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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.

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Analyst Recommendations for Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO)

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