Buenaventura Mining Company Inc. Stock Downgraded (BVN)

Editor's Note: TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Buenaventura Mining Company (NYSE:BVN) has been downgraded by TheStreet Ratings from buy to hold. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, expanding profit margins and notable return on equity. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including weak operating cash flow, a generally disappointing performance in the stock itself and feeble growth in the company's earnings per share.

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Highlights from the ratings report include:

• BVN's debt-to-equity ratio is very low at 0.04 and is currently below that of the industry average, implying that there has been very successful management of debt levels. To add to this, BVN has a quick ratio of 1.71, which demonstrates the ability of the company to cover short-term liquidity needs.
• The gross profit margin for MINAS BUENAVENTURA SA is rather high; currently it is at 57.50%. Despite the high profit margin, it has decreased significantly from the same period last year. Despite the mixed results of the gross profit margin, BVN's net profit margin of 45.06% significantly outperformed against the industry.
• Despite the weak revenue results, BVN has outperformed against the industry average of 21.6%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly dropped by 5.4%. The declining revenue appears to have seeped down to the company's bottom line, decreasing earnings per share.
• Reflecting the weaknesses we have cited, including the decline in the company's earnings per share, BVN has underperformed the S&P 500 Index, declining 16.30% from its price level of one year ago. The fact that the stock is now selling for less than others in its industry in relation to its current earnings is not reason enough to justify a buy rating at this time.
• Net operating cash flow has decreased to $117.89 million or 17.32% when compared to the same quarter last year. In addition, when comparing to the industry average, the firm's growth rate is much lower.

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Compa ia de Minas Buenaventura S.A.A., a precious metals company, engages in the exploration, mining, and processing of gold and silver in Peru. It also explores for other metals, including zinc, lead, and copper. The company has a P/E ratio of 10.7, below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Buenaventura has a market cap of $8.4 billion and is part of the basic materials sector and metals & mining industry. Shares are down 13.8% year to date as of the close of trading on Monday.

You can view the full Buenaventura Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.

-- Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff

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