First Trust Advisors LP Increases Stake in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) by 7.7% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 118,171 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,479 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $20,332,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,862,244 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $410,646,000 after purchasing an additional 66,268 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Southern Copper by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,536,228 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $363,873,000 after buying an additional 7,194 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Southern Copper by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,181,293 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $169,480,000 after buying an additional 90,237 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Southern Copper by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 983,822 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $141,149,000 after buying an additional 33,804 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Southern Copper by 1.5% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 955,924 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $116,012,000 after buying an additional 14,212 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.82, for a total value of $35,564.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $321,320.74. This trade represents a 9.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 504 shares of company stock valued at $92,008. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on SCCO shares. Barclays set a $166.00 price objective on shares of Southern Copper and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Citigroup restated a “positive” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Southern Copper from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Southern Copper from $146.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Southern Copper from $127.00 to $131.50 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and seven have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $148.60.

Southern Copper Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SCCO opened at $175.20 on Thursday. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $181.13 and a 200 day moving average of $184.02. The firm has a market cap of $144.72 billion, a PE ratio of 25.61, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.11. Southern Copper Corporation has a one year low of $88.73 and a one year high of $223.88.

Southern Copper’s stock is going to split on Tuesday, August 11th. The 1.012-1 split was recently announced. The newly minted shares will be payable to shareholders after the market closes on Monday, August 10th.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. Southern Copper had a net margin of 35.87% and a return on equity of 50.74%. The business had revenue of $4.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.37 billion. The firm’s revenue was up 40.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Southern Copper Corporation will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This is a boost from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is currently 58.48%.

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.