Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened
by Teresa Graham · The Cerbat GemSouthern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO – Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $192.95 and last traded at $189.1680, with a volume of 787150 shares. The stock had previously closed at $184.30.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
SCCO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $138.00 price target on shares of Southern Copper and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. HSBC reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $118.00 target price (up from $105.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Friday, October 17th. UBS Group set a $148.00 price target on Southern Copper and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Itau BBA Securities cut Southern Copper from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $126.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and seven have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $134.65.
View Our Latest Report on Southern Copper
Southern Copper Trading Up 1.8%
The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $152.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $126.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $161.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.57, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 3.91, a current ratio of 4.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.
Shares of Southern Copper are scheduled to split before the market opens on Tuesday, February 10th. The 1.0085-1 split was recently announced. The newly minted shares will be distributed to shareholders after the market closes on Monday, February 9th.
Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.09. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 38.74% and a net margin of 30.98%.The company had revenue of $3.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Southern Copper Corporation will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.
Southern Copper Increases Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 10th. This is an increase from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.47%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Southern Copper
In related news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.00, for a total transaction of $55,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $175,835. This trade represents a 24.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 948 shares of company stock worth $131,130 in the last three months. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SCCO. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 42.1% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 44,879 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,194,000 after purchasing an additional 13,293 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Southern Copper by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,705 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $627,000 after buying an additional 1,020 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in Southern Copper by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,944 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $556,000 after acquiring an additional 1,052 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,755 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,668,000 after acquiring an additional 982 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 31.0% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,187 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $120,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 7.94% of the company’s stock.
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.