430,244 Shares in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO Bought by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 430,244 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,179,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SCCO. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,729,500,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Southern Copper in the 2nd quarter worth about $696,621,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in Southern Copper by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,862,244 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $410,646,000 after buying an additional 66,268 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,536,228 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $363,873,000 after acquiring an additional 7,194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the second quarter valued at approximately $318,448,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

Shares of Southern Copper stock opened at $216.79 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $184.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $183.72. Southern Copper Corporation has a 12 month low of $92.94 and a 12 month high of $223.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 5.06 and a quick ratio of 4.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $180.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.69, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.11.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $4.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.37 billion. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 49.04% and a net margin of 35.87%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Southern Copper Corporation will post 7.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. This is a boost from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on SCCO shares. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $138.34 target price (up from $133.40) on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Southern Copper from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Southern Copper from $144.27 to $156.13 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Southern Copper from $168.97 to $169.96 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and seven have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $146.84.

Insider Activity at Southern Copper

In other news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 202 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.79, for a total value of $39,751.28. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 509 shares of company stock valued at $97,753. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.