Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) Receives $89.57 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) have been given an average rating of “Reduce” by the eight research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $89.57.

SCCO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Southern Copper from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. UBS Group initiated coverage on Southern Copper in a report on Friday, July 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Southern Copper from $81.70 to $100.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. CICC Research assumed coverage on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern Copper

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCCO. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Southern Copper by 1.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 968,149 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $72,892,000 after buying an additional 12,201 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 76.5% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 53,885 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,638,000 after purchasing an additional 23,362 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 119.8% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 41,223 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,548,000 after purchasing an additional 22,471 shares during the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the fourth quarter worth approximately $202,000. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the fourth quarter worth approximately $523,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

SCCO opened at $97.49 on Thursday. Southern Copper has a 12-month low of $68.93 and a 12-month high of $129.79. The company has a current ratio of 3.31, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.15 billion, a PE ratio of 32.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $110.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $103.34.

Southern Copper Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 26th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.73%.

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.