Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The basic materials company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.01), Zacks reports. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 37.11% and a net margin of 27.67%.

Southern Copper Price Performance

Southern Copper stock traded up $2.58 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $94.67. 441,885 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,117,245. The stock has a market cap of $74.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.32, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $95.50 and its 200-day moving average is $102.18. The company has a quick ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Southern Copper has a 12 month low of $77.42 and a 12 month high of $129.79.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. This is a boost from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 11th. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is 72.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SCCO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised Southern Copper from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $106.30 to $102.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Southern Copper from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $92.50 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Southern Copper from $54.00 to $52.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.81.

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.