NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd Makes New Investment in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd purchased a new stake in Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,952 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $514,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SCCO. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Southern Copper in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new position in Southern Copper during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new position in Southern Copper during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SCCO. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Southern Copper from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. UBS Group reissued a “sell” rating and set a $158.10 price target (up from $143.28) on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Scotiabank reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $138.34 price target (up from $133.40) on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Monday, June 15th. CICC Research downgraded Southern Copper to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Southern Copper from $168.97 to $169.96 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and seven have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $146.84.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 202 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $339,066.65. This trade represents a 10.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 711 shares of company stock worth $133,247 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Stock Up 4.3%

SCCO stock opened at $192.54 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $180.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $182.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 4.56 and a current ratio of 5.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $160.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.15, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.11. Southern Copper Corporation has a one year low of $92.57 and a one year high of $223.88.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $4.29 billion for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Southern Copper Corporation will post 7.61 EPS for the current year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.33%.

Southern Copper 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.