Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $100.05, but opened at $102.50. Southern Copper shares last traded at $100.31, with a volume of 92,415 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on SCCO shares. Citigroup raised their price target on Southern Copper from $99.44 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $54.00 to $52.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Southern Copper from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $92.50 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Southern Copper from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.56.

Southern Copper Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $110.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a current ratio of 2.77. The firm has a market cap of $80.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.14.

Southern Copper Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a — dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th were issued a $0.62 dividend. This represents a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 6th. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is 72.09%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Southern Copper by 27.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 108,633 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $12,772,000 after buying an additional 23,539 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Southern Copper by 30.8% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 71,376 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,256,000 after purchasing an additional 16,805 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in Southern Copper by 488.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 30,787 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,561,000 after purchasing an additional 25,559 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Southern Copper during the 3rd quarter worth about $202,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Southern Copper by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 613,286 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $70,437,000 after purchasing an additional 20,204 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.