Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino Sells 100 Shares

Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.20, for a total value of $17,820.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,007 shares in the company, valued at $357,647.40. The trade was a 4.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, March 13th, Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 193 shares of Southern Copper stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.60, for a total value of $33,697.80.
• On Thursday, March 12th, Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 7 shares of Southern Copper stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $1,330.00.

Southern Copper Stock Down 2.4%

NYSE:SCCO traded down $4.29 on Monday, hitting $172.49. 1,004,243 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,914,310. The company has a current ratio of 4.38, a quick ratio of 3.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Southern Copper Corporation has a 1 year low of $88.73 and a 1 year high of $223.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $179.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $168.35. The company has a market cap of $141.29 billion, a PE ratio of 28.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.07.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.04. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 45.63% and a net margin of 34.13%.The company had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.96 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Southern Copper Corporation will post 6.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is currently 66.12%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern Copper

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCCO. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 36.1% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,437,608 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $781,268,000 after buying an additional 1,708,693 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the fourth quarter worth approximately $97,645,000. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the fourth quarter worth approximately $81,039,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the first quarter worth approximately $85,342,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,560,000. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SCCO. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Friday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Southern Copper from $117.50 to $127.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered Southern Copper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company set a $171.00 price objective on Southern Copper and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America lowered Southern Copper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $162.00 to $175.00 in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and seven have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern Copper has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $144.43.

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.