Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Stock Rating Upgraded by UBS Group

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) was upgraded by equities research analysts at UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage presently has a $120.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock. UBS Group’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 32.89% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Southern Copper from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $106.30 to $102.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Southern Copper from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $92.50 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on Southern Copper from $52.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “sector underperform” rating in a report on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.31.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

NYSE:SCCO opened at $90.30 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $93.71 and a 200 day moving average of $100.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 2.77 and a quick ratio of 2.31. Southern Copper has a 1-year low of $84.33 and a 1-year high of $129.79. The company has a market capitalization of $70.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.90, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.12.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Southern Copper will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern Copper

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SCCO. General Pension Society PZU Joint Stock Co grew its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. General Pension Society PZU Joint Stock Co now owns 357,090 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,542,000 after buying an additional 19,592 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the 4th quarter worth $40,226,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 51.2% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 170,816 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $15,454,000 after purchasing an additional 57,834 shares during the last quarter. Centerstone Investors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Centerstone Investors LLC now owns 23,438 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,136,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 160.1% during the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 6,258 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $570,000 after buying an additional 3,852 shares during the last quarter. 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.