National Wealth Management Group LLC Purchases New Position in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

National Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 8,927 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,281,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 36.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,437,608 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $781,268,000 after purchasing an additional 1,708,693 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,795,976 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $339,320,000 after purchasing an additional 40,847 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,719,883 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $174,002,000 after purchasing an additional 168,005 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,091,632 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $132,479,000 after purchasing an additional 123,532 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Southern Copper by 1.5% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 955,924 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $116,012,000 after buying an additional 14,212 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern Copper

In other news, Director Lerdo De Tejada Leon Contreras sold 9,326 shares of Southern Copper 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 transaction, the director owned 605 shares in the company, valued at $126,783.04. The trade was a 93.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 193 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director directly owned 1,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $298,042.20. The trade was a 10.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,526 shares of company stock worth $1,989,373. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Trading Up 3.5%

Shares of Southern Copper stock opened at $165.55 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 3.89 and a quick ratio of 3.40. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $190.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $152.96. The stock has a market cap of $135.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.03. Southern Copper Corporation has a 1-year low of $74.84 and a 1-year high of $223.88.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.01. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 41.97% and a net margin of 32.30%.The firm had revenue of $3.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Southern Copper Corporation will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This is a boost from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is 75.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup restated a “sell” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $154.69 price target on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Itau BBA Securities lowered Southern Copper from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $124.94 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and eight have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $139.99.

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.