Pacer Advisors Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) by 19.9% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 412,868 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 68,518 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $71,038,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in Southern Copper in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new stake in Southern Copper during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Southern Copper during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Southern Copper in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 233.3% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SCCO has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Southern Copper from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $178.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $127.00 to $131.50 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Southern Copper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Barclays set a $166.00 price objective on shares of Southern Copper and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Southern Copper from $146.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and seven have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $148.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 200 shares of Southern Copper stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.82, for a total transaction of $35,564.00. Following the sale, the director owned 1,807 shares in the company, valued at $321,320.74. This trade represents a 9.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 504 shares of company stock worth $92,008 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SCCO opened at $182.79 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 4.38 and a quick ratio of 3.89. Southern Copper Corporation has a 1-year low of $89.87 and a 1-year high of $223.88. The company has a market capitalization of $150.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.72, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50-day moving average of $181.30 and a 200-day moving average of $184.19.

Shares of Southern Copper are going to split on the morning of Tuesday, August 11th. The 1.012-1 split was recently announced. The newly issued shares will be payable to shareholders after the market closes on Monday, August 10th.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $4.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.37 billion. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 50.74% and a net margin of 35.87%.The firm’s revenue was up 40.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Southern Copper Corporation will post 7.63 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be given a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. This is a positive change from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is 64.33%.

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.