Johnson Financial Group Inc. Takes $1.40 Million Position in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 8,045 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,402,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position 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 last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al lifted 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 last quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,910 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $417,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Venture Visionary Partners LLC grew its stake in Southern Copper by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 6,998 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,004,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Southern Copper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. CICC Research cut shares of Southern Copper to a “market perform” rating in a report on Sunday, July 26th. Zacks Research cut Southern Copper from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a report 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 research report on Monday, June 15th. Three equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern Copper presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $146.84.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

NYSE SCCO opened at $194.57 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 5.06, a quick ratio of 4.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $181.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $182.88. Southern Copper Corporation has a 1 year low of $92.57 and a 1 year high of $223.88.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.06. Southern Copper had a net margin of 35.87% and a return on equity of 49.04%. The business had revenue of $4.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.37 billion. Southern Copper’s quarterly revenue was up 40.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. This is an increase from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is presently 64.33%.

Insider Activity at Southern Copper

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

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.