Brokerages Set Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) Target Price at $144.79

Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the thirteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $144.7885.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Itau BBA Securities cut Southern Copper from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $124.94 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Bank of America cut Southern Copper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $162.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $186.00 target price on shares of Southern Copper and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st.

Insider Transactions at Southern Copper

In other news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 193 shares of Southern Copper stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.60, for a total value of $33,697.80. Following the transaction, the director directly 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. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lerdo De Tejada Leon Contreras sold 9,326 shares of Southern Copper stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 605 shares in the company, valued at $126,783.04. The trade was a 93.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 9,526 shares of company stock worth $1,989,373 over the last quarter. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Southern Copper in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. SHP Wealth Management bought a new stake in Southern Copper in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Southern Copper by 65.1% in the 3rd quarter. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. now owns 213 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new stake in Southern Copper in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Southern Copper in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Copper Stock Down 1.7%

Southern Copper stock opened at $191.00 on Friday. Southern Copper has a 1-year low of $84.97 and a 1-year high of $223.88. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $187.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $162.13. The company has a market capitalization of $156.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 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 (NYSE:SCCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 41.97% and a net margin of 32.30%.The company had revenue of $3.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Southern Copper will post 6.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

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

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.