Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) Given Average Rating of "Reduce" by Brokerages

Shares of Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" from the seven research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $94.42.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $52.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "sector underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. UBS Group raised Southern Copper from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $120.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

NYSE:SCCO traded up $2.67 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $84.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,845,591 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,222,861. Southern Copper has a 12 month low of $74.84 and a 12 month high of $127.34. The firm has a market cap of $67.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $92.05 and a 200-day moving average of $99.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a current ratio of 2.77.

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Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.01). Southern Copper had a net margin of 29.53% and a return on equity of 40.27%. Research analysts expect that Southern Copper will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. This is an increase from Southern Copper's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Southern Copper's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.81%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern Copper

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Southern Copper by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,232,245 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $385,684,000 after buying an additional 24,787 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Southern Copper by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,700,844 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $337,260,000 after acquiring an additional 15,037 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc increased its holdings in Southern Copper by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 2,849,638 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $260,428,000 after acquiring an additional 118,909 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Southern Copper by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,728,802 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $315,641,000 after purchasing an additional 27,358 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Southern Copper by 74.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,402,983 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $162,283,000 after purchasing an additional 599,610 shares during the period. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.