Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Price Target Raised to $160.00 at Morgan Stanley

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) had its price target upped by Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $160.00 in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on SCCO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $116.51 price objective (down from $118.49) on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Bank of America lowered Southern Copper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $162.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Monday, January 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $127.91 price target on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Southern Copper from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and eight have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern Copper currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $139.68.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

NYSE SCCO opened at $188.39 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $187.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $157.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $154.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 3.40 and a current ratio of 3.89. Southern Copper has a fifty-two week low of $79.26 and a fifty-two week high of $223.88.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.73 billion. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 41.97% and a net margin of 32.30%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Southern Copper will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This is a boost from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern Copper

In other news, Director Lerdo De Tejada Leon Contreras sold 9,326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.56, for a total value of $1,954,344.91. Following the transaction, the director owned 605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $126,783.04. This represents a 93.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 193 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.60, for a total value of $33,697.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,707 shares in the company, valued at $298,042.20. This represents a 10.16% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,526 shares of company stock worth $1,989,373. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern Copper

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,030 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $865,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al raised its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 6,072 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $871,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,910 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $417,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Venture Visionary Partners LLC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

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.