Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Stock Rating Upgraded by The Goldman Sachs Group

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) was upgraded by stock analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report issued on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $178.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective would suggest a potential downside of 7.39% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on SCCO. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $190.38 price target on shares of Southern Copper and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup restated a “sell” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Itau BBA Securities downgraded shares of Southern Copper from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $124.94 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and seven have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $145.19.

Southern Copper Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE SCCO opened at $192.21 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.44 billion, a PE ratio of 36.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 3.89, a quick ratio of 3.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Southern Copper has a 1 year low of $82.56 and a 1 year high of $223.88. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $187.94 and its 200-day moving average is $158.80.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 32.30% and a return on equity of 41.97%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Southern Copper will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Lerdo De Tejada Leon Contreras sold 9,326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.56, for a total transaction of $1,954,344.91. Following 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 193 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.60, for a total transaction of $33,697.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $298,042.20. The trade was a 10.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,526 shares of company stock worth $1,989,373. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern Copper

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Southern Copper by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,030 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $865,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in 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 worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 6,379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $915,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Venture Visionary Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 6,998 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,004,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. 7.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Southern Copper

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

• Positive Sentiment: Solid fundamentals — Southern Copper’s latest quarter beat expectations (EPS and revenue) and the company shows high margins and return on equity, which supports investor confidence and helps explain buying interest today.
• Positive Sentiment: Technicals and momentum — the stock is trading above its 50‑day and well above its 200‑day moving averages, and recent strong YTD/1‑year returns are attracting momentum flows that can lift the share price.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst upgrade to neutral — Goldman Sachs moved SCCO from “sell” to “neutral” with a $178 target; the upgrade is a vote of confidence on near‑term risk versus prior ratings but the target still implies modest downside versus the current price. Goldman Sachs upgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Permit revoked for Tía María — Peru pulled the permit for the US$1.8B Tía María copper mine, a long‑running Southern Copper project in Peru, creating direct project risk and potential loss of future production upside. This is a material country‑level headwind for SCCO’s Peruvian pipeline. Peru pulls permit for Tia María
• Negative Sentiment: Mixed analyst signals with downside bias — JPMorgan raised its price target but kept an “underweight” stance (PT to $127), and Morgan Stanley raised its PT but also retains an “underweight” view; both imply notable downside from current levels and add selling pressure/uncertainty. JPMorgan / Morgan Stanley notes
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concern piece — recent commentary questioning whether SCCO “has run too far” highlights valuation risk after the stock’s large one‑year run; such narratives can temper further upside and encourage profit‑taking. Valuation analysis

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.