Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Increases Position in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) by 1,260.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 65,689 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 60,860 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $8,917,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCCO. Capital World Investors grew its position in Southern Copper by 36.1% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,437,608 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $781,268,000 after acquiring an additional 1,708,693 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc grew its position in Southern Copper by 65.4% in the second quarter. Man Group plc now owns 467,119 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,258,000 after acquiring an additional 184,641 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in Southern Copper by 54.6% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 505,284 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $61,321,000 after acquiring an additional 178,350 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in Southern Copper by 187.2% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 219,038 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,582,000 after acquiring an additional 142,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Southern Copper by 81.5% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 286,282 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,963,000 after acquiring an additional 128,512 shares in the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

NYSE SCCO opened at $179.38 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $177.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.33. The company has a quick ratio of 3.89, a current ratio of 4.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Southern Copper Corporation has a 12-month low of $88.73 and a 12-month high of $223.88. The firm has a market cap of $146.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.65, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.07.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.04. Southern Copper had a net margin of 34.13% and a return on equity of 45.63%. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.96 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Southern Copper Corporation will post 6.93 EPS for the current year.

Southern Copper Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on SCCO shares. Bank of America lowered shares of Southern Copper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $162.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $171.00 target price on shares of Southern Copper and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southern Copper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Southern Copper from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and eight have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern Copper presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $145.14.

Insider Transactions at Southern Copper

In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 193 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.60, for a total transaction of $33,697.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,707 shares in the company, valued at $298,042.20. This represents a 10.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 300 shares of company stock worth $52,848 in the last ninety days. Corporate 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.