Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Reaches New 12-Month Low - Here's What Happened

Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $79.45 and last traded at $79.82, with a volume of 337395 shares. The stock had previously closed at $86.73.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SCCO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded Southern Copper from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $106.30 to $102.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Southern Copper from $52.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Southern Copper from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $120.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $94.42.

Southern Copper Trading Up 8.1 %

The company's 50 day simple moving average is $92.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.82. The firm has a market cap of $65.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

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

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. This is a boost from Southern Copper's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. Southern Copper's payout ratio is 64.81%.

Institutional Trading of Southern Copper

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of SCCO. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its holdings in Southern Copper by 210.7% during the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 379 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in Southern Copper by 143.4% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 477 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 521 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. 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.