Ero Copper (NYSE:ERO) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Shares of Ero Copper Corp. (NYSE:ERO) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $32.84, but opened at $34.96. Ero Copper shares last traded at $34.7780, with a volume of 539,244 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ERO. CIBC reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Ero Copper in a research note on Friday, December 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Ero Copper from $25.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Ero Copper from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ero Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts lowered shares of Ero Copper from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ero Copper presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.50.

Ero Copper Trading Up 1.4%

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $26.77 and a 200 day moving average of $20.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.04 and a beta of 1.22.

Ero Copper (NYSE:ERO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $177.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $309.30 million. Ero Copper had a net margin of 23.44% and a return on equity of 17.07%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ero Copper Corp. will post 0.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ero Copper

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in Ero Copper during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in shares of Ero Copper in the third quarter valued at $111,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Ero Copper during the fourth quarter valued at about $115,000. Shay Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ero Copper in the 3rd quarter valued at about $202,000. Finally, Versor Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Ero Copper during the 3rd quarter valued at about $217,000. Institutional investors own 71.30% of the company’s stock.

Ero Copper Company Profile

Ero Copper Corp (NYSE: ERO) is a Canada-based natural resource company focused on the production of copper concentrate from its Brazilian operations. The company’s flagship asset is the Vale do Curaçá mining complex in the state of Bahia, which includes multiple underground mines and a centralized processing facility. Ero Copper’s primary product is copper concentrate, which is sold to smelters and end users around the world.

The Vale do Curaçá complex comprises the Pilar and Surubim underground mines, supported by a fully integrated processing plant.