Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Shares of Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) reached a new 52-week low on Friday . The company traded as low as $79.45 and last traded at $79.82, with a volume of 337395 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $86.73.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SCCO. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Southern Copper from $52.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “sector underperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Southern Copper from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $106.30 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Southern Copper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Three equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.42.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $93.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.37. The firm has a market cap of $62.47 billion, a PE ratio of 18.16, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.77, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported $1.01 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Southern Copper Co. will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 11th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. This is a positive change from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.81%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern Copper

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in shares of Southern Copper by 2,816.0% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 5,103 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $590,000 after buying an additional 4,928 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 8,797 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Southern Copper in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,397,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Southern Copper by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 43,381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,018,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in Southern Copper in the third quarter worth $120,000. 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.