NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd Invests $514,000 in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,952 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $514,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fund Advisors of America Inc FL bought a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the 2nd quarter worth about $870,000. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 33,638 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG purchased a new stake in Southern Copper in the 2nd quarter worth about $5,266,000. RFG Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Southern Copper in the 4th quarter worth about $1,147,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in Southern Copper by 16.2% in the fourth 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 last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Copper Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE SCCO opened at $211.58 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 4.56 and a current ratio of 5.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $176.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.93, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $184.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $183.78. Southern Copper Corporation has a 52-week low of $92.94 and a 52-week high of $223.88.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $4.29 billion for 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 for the quarter was up 40.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Southern Copper Corporation will post 7.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 11th. This is a positive change from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SCCO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Southern Copper from $144.27 to $156.13 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Southern Copper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Southern Copper from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Southern Copper from $168.97 to $169.96 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Three 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern Copper presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $146.84.

Insider Activity at Southern Copper

In related news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 202 shares of Southern Copper stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.79, for a total value of $39,751.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,723 shares in the company, valued at $339,066.65. The trade was a 10.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 509 shares of company stock worth $97,753 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Company 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.