Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. Takes $2.12 Million Position in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 14,784 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,121,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital World Investors increased 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 valued at $781,268,000 after acquiring an additional 1,708,693 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Southern Copper by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,795,976 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $339,320,000 after purchasing an additional 40,847 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Southern Copper by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,536,228 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $363,873,000 after purchasing an additional 7,194 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in Southern Copper by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,091,632 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $132,479,000 after purchasing an additional 123,532 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Southern Copper by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 983,822 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $141,149,000 after purchasing an additional 33,804 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Stock Up 3.5%

Shares of NYSE:SCCO opened at $201.35 on Wednesday. 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 52-week low of $88.73 and a 52-week high of $223.88. The company has a 50 day moving average of $179.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $171.94. The company has a market capitalization of $164.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.09.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.96 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Southern Copper Corporation will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.12%.

Insider Transactions at Southern Copper

In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.82, for a total value of $35,564.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $321,320.74. This trade represents a 9.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 600 shares of company stock valued at $108,412 over the last three months. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on SCCO shares. Bank of America downgraded shares of Southern Copper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $162.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Southern Copper from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $178.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group increased 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, May 21st. Scotiabank reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price (up from $133.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Southern Copper from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and eight have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $145.14.

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.