Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $133.25 and last traded at $130.30, with a volume of 2579576 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $128.29.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SCCO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $99.00 target price (up from $86.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $89.00 price target on shares of Southern Copper and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Southern Copper from $79.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $155.00 target price on shares of Southern Copper and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern Copper currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $102.83.

Southern Copper Trading Up 1.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 4.51 and a current ratio of 5.27. The stock has a market cap of $104.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $103.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.14.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $1.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is a boost from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 414 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $41,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $232,700. The trade was a 15.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 1,228 shares of company stock valued at $123,102 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Southern Copper

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its holdings in Southern Copper by 117.6% during the first quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 272 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern Copper in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Tobam purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the second quarter worth $29,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southern Copper in the second quarter worth $32,000. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Company Profile

Southern Copper Corporation engages in mining, exploring, smelting, and refining copper and other minerals in Peru, Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador, and Chile. The company is involved in the mining, milling, and flotation of copper ore to produce copper and molybdenum concentrates; smelting of copper concentrates to produce blister and anode copper; refining of anode copper to produce copper cathodes; production of molybdenum concentrate and sulfuric acid; production of refined silver, gold, and other materials; and mining and processing of zinc, copper, molybdenum, silver, gold, and lead.