Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Acquires New Position in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,928 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $510,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SCCO. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 42.1% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 44,879 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,194,000 after purchasing an additional 13,293 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 17.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,705 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $627,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 21.5% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,944 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $556,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Southern Copper by 37.4% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 73,379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,424,000 after purchasing an additional 19,957 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Southern Copper by 17.7% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,864 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $492,000 after purchasing an additional 731 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

Shares of SCCO stock opened at $199.45 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $166.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $181.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $182.97. Southern Copper Corporation has a 52 week low of $92.57 and a 52 week high of $223.88.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $4.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.37 billion. Southern Copper had a net margin of 35.87% and a return on equity of 49.04%. The company’s revenue was up 40.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Southern Copper Corporation will post 7.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be given a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is presently 64.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SCCO has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Southern Copper from $125.49 to $129.94 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Citigroup reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Barclays set a $164.03 target price on shares of Southern Copper and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Southern Copper from $144.27 to $156.13 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southern Copper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and seven have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $146.84.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 202 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.79, for a total value of $39,751.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $339,066.65. This represents a 10.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 509 shares of company stock valued at $97,753. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.