Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 5,328 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $928,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Southern Copper by 42.1% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 44,879 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,194,000 after purchasing an additional 13,293 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Southern Copper by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,705 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $627,000 after buying an additional 1,020 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in Southern Copper by 21.5% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,944 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $556,000 after buying an additional 1,052 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 37.4% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 73,379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,424,000 after acquiring an additional 19,957 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Southern Copper by 17.7% in the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,864 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $492,000 after purchasing an additional 731 shares in the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Copper Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of Southern Copper stock opened at $219.70 on Wednesday. Southern Copper Corporation has a 12-month low of $92.94 and a 12-month high of $223.88. The stock has a market cap of $183.30 billion, a PE ratio of 32.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50-day moving average of $183.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $183.38. The company has a current ratio of 5.06, a quick ratio of 4.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.06. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 49.04% and a net margin of 35.87%.The firm had revenue of $4.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.37 billion. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 40.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is an increase from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is presently 64.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SCCO shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Southern Copper from $168.97 to $169.96 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Citigroup reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $144.27 to $156.13 and gave the stock 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. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $138.34 target price (up from $133.40) on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and seven have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern Copper currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $146.84.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern Copper

In other news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 202 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.79, for a total value of $39,751.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $339,066.65. The trade was a 10.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold 509 shares of company stock valued at $97,753 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

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.