Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO Shares Bought by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) by 896.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 50,421 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 45,359 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $8,676,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Southern Copper by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,030 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $865,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al grew its position in Southern Copper by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 6,072 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $871,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,910 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $417,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 6,379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $915,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Venture Visionary Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 6,998 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,004,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern Copper

In related news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.82, for a total transaction of $35,564.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 504 shares of company stock valued at $92,008 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Price Performance

NYSE SCCO opened at $184.95 on Friday. Southern Copper Corporation has a 12 month low of $89.87 and a 12 month high of $223.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $152.78 billion, a PE ratio of 27.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $181.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $184.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 4.38 and a quick ratio of 3.89.

Shares of Southern Copper are set to split before the market opens on Tuesday, August 11th. The 1.012-1 split was recently announced. The newly created shares will be issued to shareholders after the closing bell on Monday, August 10th.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $4.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.37 billion. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 50.74% and a net margin of 35.87%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Southern Copper Corporation will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be issued a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is a positive change from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is currently 64.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SCCO. CICC Research downgraded Southern Copper to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Sunday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $140.00 target price (up from $135.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Barclays set a $166.00 target price on Southern Copper and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Southern Copper from $127.00 to $131.50 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and seven have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $148.60.

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.