Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Shares Gap Down to $114.08

Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $114.08, but opened at $110.00. Southern Copper shares last traded at $111.49, with a volume of 250,351 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on SCCO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $63.50 to $61.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Southern Copper from $61.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. StockNews.com cut Southern Copper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $91.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.83.

Southern Copper Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $88.25 billion, a PE ratio of 36.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 2.46, a current ratio of 3.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The company’s fifty day moving average is $95.37 and its 200 day moving average is $83.72.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.37 billion. Southern Copper had a net margin of 24.51% and a return on equity of 30.85%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern Copper Co. will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 13th were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 12th. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.91%.

Institutional Trading of Southern Copper

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wahed Invest LLC grew its position in shares of Southern Copper by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 1,451 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $125,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,227 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. First National Trust Co raised its position in shares of Southern Copper by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 37,134 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,196,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 302 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.