Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on SCCO. Citigroup reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $108.00 price target (up previously from $89.10) on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. HSBC reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $118.00 target price (up from $105.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $121.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $92.00 to $114.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern Copper currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $117.94.

Southern Copper Price Performance

SCCO stock opened at $136.57 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.63, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $121.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $104.80. The company has a current ratio of 5.27, a quick ratio of 4.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Southern Copper has a 12-month low of $74.84 and a 12-month high of $144.81.

Southern Copper’s stock is going to split before the market opens on Wednesday, November 12th. The 1.0085-1 split was recently announced. The newly created shares will be distributed to shareholders after the closing bell on Tuesday, November 11th.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.09. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 39.62% and a net margin of 30.98%.The firm had revenue of $3.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Southern Copper will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.35, for a total value of $27,870.00. Following the sale, the director owned 1,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $238,706.55. This represents a 10.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 814 shares of company stock valued at $97,512 in the last 90 days. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Southern Copper

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its position in Southern Copper by 117.6% during the 1st quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 272 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Southern Copper in the third quarter worth $25,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 65.1% in the third quarter. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. now owns 213 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Tobam bought a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, United Community Bank bought a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the third quarter valued at $30,000. 7.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Southern Copper

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.