Madison Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Madison Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 15,900 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,771,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCCO. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Southern Copper by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,030 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $865,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al boosted 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 acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,910 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $417,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $915,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Venture Visionary Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $1,004,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 202 shares of Southern Copper stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 10.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 509 shares of company stock valued at $97,753. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SCCO shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $158.10 price objective (up from $143.28) on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings raised Southern Copper from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. 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. Barclays set a $164.03 price target on Southern Copper and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Southern Copper from $144.27 to $156.13 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. 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 MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $146.84.

Southern Copper Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SCCO 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $181.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $182.97. The stock has a market cap of $166.41 billion, a PE ratio of 29.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.11. Southern Copper Corporation has a one year low of $92.57 and a one year high of $223.88.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last released its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.37 billion. Southern Copper’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Southern Copper Corporation will post 7.61 EPS 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 dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.33%.

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.