Bank of Nova Scotia Purchases Shares of 10,124 Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new position in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 10,124 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,777,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southern Copper in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,729,500,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Southern Copper during the second quarter worth approximately $696,621,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Southern Copper during the fourth quarter worth approximately $97,645,000. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new stake in Southern Copper in the fourth quarter worth approximately $81,039,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in Southern Copper in the first quarter worth approximately $85,342,000. 7.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Copper Trading Down 2.7%

NYSE SCCO opened at $213.68 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $178.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.11. Southern Copper Corporation has a 52 week low of $92.94 and a 52 week high of $223.88. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $183.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $183.58. The company has a quick ratio of 4.56, a current ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

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

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. This is a positive change from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern Copper

In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 202 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director directly owned 1,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $339,066.65. This trade represents a 10.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 509 shares of company stock valued at $97,753 over the last 90 days. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SCCO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. CICC Research cut Southern Copper to a “market perform” rating in a report on Sunday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of 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 downgraded shares of Southern Copper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Citigroup reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Scotiabank restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $138.34 price target (up from $133.40) on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Monday, June 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and seven have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $146.84.

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.