Vestcor Inc Invests $639,000 in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Vestcor Inc bought a new position in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,456 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $639,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of SCCO. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 36.1% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Southern Copper in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $97,645,000. Man Group plc increased its stake in Southern Copper by 65.4% in the 2nd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 467,119 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,258,000 after purchasing an additional 184,641 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in Southern Copper by 54.6% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 505,284 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $61,321,000 after purchasing an additional 178,350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Southern Copper by 187.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 219,038 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,582,000 after purchasing an additional 142,780 shares in the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

Southern Copper stock opened at $170.51 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 3.89 and a current ratio of 4.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $182.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $173.99. The company has a market capitalization of $139.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.18, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.09. Southern Copper Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $88.73 and a fifty-two week high of $223.88.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.96 billion. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 45.63% and a net margin of 34.13%. On average, analysts anticipate that Southern Copper Corporation will post 7.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SCCO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $171.00 price objective on Southern Copper and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group raised their price objective on Southern Copper from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Southern Copper from $117.50 to $127.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Southern Copper in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $148.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and eight have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $145.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.82, for a total transaction of $35,564.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $321,320.74. This trade represents a 9.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold a total of 604 shares of company stock worth $109,136 over the last ninety 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.