Vanguard Group Inc. Increases Position in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 950,018 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 96,013 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc.’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $115,294,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Southern Copper by 42.1% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 44,879 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,194,000 after buying an additional 13,293 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Southern Copper by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,705 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $627,000 after acquiring an additional 1,020 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in Southern Copper by 21.5% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,944 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $556,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 31,674 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,205,000 after buying an additional 2,330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Southern Copper by 3,100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 480 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research downgraded Southern Copper from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Scotiabank reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $127.91 price target on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Itau BBA Securities downgraded Southern Copper from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $124.94 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and eight have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern Copper has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $139.99.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Lerdo De Tejada Leon Contreras sold 9,326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.56, for a total transaction of $1,954,344.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $126,783.04. This represents a 93.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southern Copper Stock Up 0.2%

SCCO stock opened at $206.70 on Thursday. Southern Copper Corporation has a one year low of $74.84 and a one year high of $223.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.85, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $184.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $144.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a current ratio of 3.89.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 10th. This is a positive change from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is 75.19%.

Southern Copper Profile

Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE: SCCO) is a large, integrated copper producer whose operations span the full value chain from exploration and mining to smelting, refining and the sale of copper and other metal products. The company produces a range of copper products including copper concentrate and refined cathodes, and recovers valuable byproducts such as molybdenum, silver and zinc. Southern Copper concentrates on high-volume, long-life assets designed to support steady production and processing capabilities.

Southern Copper’s operations are concentrated in Peru and Mexico, where it owns and operates multiple large-scale mining and processing facilities.