The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Invests $5.79 Million in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 33,251 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,794,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,030 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $865,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al raised its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 6,072 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $871,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Southern Copper by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,910 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $417,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Southern Copper by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 6,379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $915,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venture Visionary Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 6,998 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,004,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

Shares of Southern Copper stock opened at $209.09 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 5.06 and a quick ratio of 4.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $174.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50-day moving average of $185.12 and a 200 day moving average of $183.86. Southern Copper Corporation has a 12 month low of $92.94 and a 12 month high of $223.88.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.06. The company 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 49.04% and a net margin of 35.87%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Southern Copper Corporation will post 7.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were issued a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 11th. This is an increase from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SCCO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Southern Copper from $168.97 to $169.96 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. CICC Research cut shares of Southern Copper to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 26th. Scotiabank restated an “underperform” rating and set a $138.34 price target (up from $133.40) on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Monday, June 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southern Copper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Southern Copper from $144.27 to $156.13 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and seven have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $146.84.

Insider Transactions at Southern Copper

In other 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 1,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $339,066.65. This trade represents a 10.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 408 shares of company stock valued at $77,793. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

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.