Virtus Advisers LLC Purchases Shares of 5,010 Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,010 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $873,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SCCO. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in shares of Southern Copper by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 192,523 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,126,000 after acquiring an additional 33,638 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Southern Copper in the 4th quarter worth about $1,147,000. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Southern Copper by 16.2% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 74,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,687,000 after purchasing an additional 10,360 shares during the period. Ashoka WhiteOak Capital Pte Ltd purchased a new position in Southern Copper during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,460,000. Finally, Precision Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Southern Copper during the first quarter worth approximately $2,769,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $138.34 price objective (up from $133.40) on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Monday, June 15th. UBS Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $158.10 target price (up from $143.28) on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $168.97 to $169.96 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Southern Copper from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, CICC Research lowered shares of Southern Copper to a “market perform” rating in a report on Sunday, July 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and seven have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern Copper presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $146.84.

Southern Copper Price Performance

NYSE:SCCO opened at $199.45 on Friday. Southern Copper Corporation has a 12 month low of $92.57 and a 12 month high of $223.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $181.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $182.97. The company has a current ratio of 5.06, a quick ratio of 4.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market cap of $166.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be paid a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 202 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.79, for a total value of $39,751.28. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $339,066.65. This trade represents a 10.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders sold 509 shares of company stock valued at $97,753. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.