Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Price Target Lowered to $100.00 at UBS Group

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO - Free Report) had its price objective lowered by UBS Group from $120.00 to $100.00 in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the basic materials company's stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Scotiabank raised their price target on Southern Copper from $52.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Southern Copper from $84.00 to $83.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $89.58.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

SCCO traded up $0.28 on Tuesday, hitting $86.47. The company had a trading volume of 1,058,290 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,224,272. The stock has a market cap of $68.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 2.77 and a quick ratio of 2.31. The company's fifty day moving average price is $91.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.21. Southern Copper has a 1-year low of $74.84 and a 1-year high of $127.34.

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

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 11th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. This is a positive change 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 currently 64.81%.

Institutional Trading of Southern Copper

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new position in Southern Copper in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in Southern Copper in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Southern Copper by 28.0% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.94% of the company's stock.

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.