Kestra Advisory Services LLC Buys 9,476 Shares of Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) by 34.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 36,907 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,476 shares during the quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $7,479,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SCCO. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Southern Copper during the second quarter worth $1,729,500,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the 2nd quarter worth $318,448,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the 2nd quarter worth $149,739,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the 1st quarter worth $85,342,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the 2nd quarter worth $85,770,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

NYSE:SCCO opened at $172.38 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 3.93 and a current ratio of 4.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $145.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.56, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $192.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $185.39. Southern Copper Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $119.25 and a fifty-two week high of $223.88.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.12. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 51.61% and a net margin of 37.16%. The company had revenue of $4.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Southern Copper Corporation will post 8.01 EPS for the current year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 3rd will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 3rd. This is a boost from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is presently 68.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on SCCO shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $168.22 price target on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Zacks Research cut shares of Southern Copper from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Southern Copper from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays set a $163.27 price target on shares of Southern Copper and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $159.47.

About Southern Copper

Southern Copper Corporation is an integrated mining company focused primarily on the exploration, mining, processing, and refining of copper. Its operations also produce molybdenum, zinc, lead, silver, and other mineral products. The company operates mines and processing facilities in Peru and Mexico, including the Toquepala and Cuajone operations in Peru and the Buenavista and La Caridad operations in Mexico. Its activities extend across the mining and metals value chain, from extracting ore to producing refined metals and concentrates.