Occidental Asset Management LLC Makes New $6.21 Million Investment in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Occidental Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 35,666 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,215,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SCCO. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Southern Copper during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new stake in Southern Copper during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Southern Copper in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern Copper

In related news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 202 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.79, for a total transaction of $39,751.28. Following the sale, the director owned 1,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $339,066.65. This represents a 10.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 711 shares of company stock worth $133,247. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Price Performance

Shares of Southern Copper stock opened at $192.54 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $160.64 billion, a PE ratio of 28.15, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $180.38 and a 200 day moving average of $182.99. The company has a current ratio of 5.06, a quick ratio of 4.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Southern Copper Corporation has a 12 month low of $92.57 and a 12 month high of $223.88.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.06. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 49.04% and a net margin of 35.87%.The business had revenue of $4.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.37 billion. The company’s revenue was up 40.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Southern Copper Corporation will post 7.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. This is an increase from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is presently 64.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SCCO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research cut Southern Copper from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Southern Copper from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. UBS Group reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $158.10 price objective (up from $143.28) on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Southern Copper from $125.49 to $129.94 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $144.27 to $156.13 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and seven have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern Copper currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $146.84.

About Southern Copper

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.