Vanguard Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) by 11.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 950,018 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 96,013 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of Southern Copper worth $115,294,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SCCO. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 42.1% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 44,879 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,194,000 after acquiring an additional 13,293 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Southern Copper by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,705 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $627,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted 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 purchasing an additional 1,052 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 7.9% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 31,674 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,205,000 after buying an additional 2,330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 3,100.0% during the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 480 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $127.91 price target on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Scotiabank restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $154.69 price objective on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $190.38 target price on shares of Southern Copper and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and eight have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern Copper currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $139.99.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Lerdo De Tejada Leon Contreras sold 9,326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.56, for a total transaction of $1,954,344.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $126,783.04. The trade was a 93.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

Shares of Southern Copper stock opened at $206.70 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 3.89 and a quick ratio of 3.91. The business has a 50-day moving average of $184.83 and a 200 day moving average of $144.71. Southern Copper Corporation has a 12 month low of $74.84 and a 12 month high of $223.88.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is a positive change from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 10th. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is presently 75.19%.

About Southern Copper

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.