Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Boosts Position in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its holdings in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) by 99.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 40,373 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,171 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $5,792,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its stake in Southern Copper by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 2,013 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Southern Copper by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 23,554 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,385,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Southern Copper by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 37,163 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,332,000 after purchasing an additional 3,770 shares during the last quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern Copper during the fourth quarter worth approximately $206,000. Finally, North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new stake in Southern Copper during the fourth quarter worth approximately $422,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SCCO opened at $169.02 on Wednesday. Southern Copper Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $88.73 and a fifty-two week high of $223.88. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $178.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $168.79. The company has a quick ratio of 3.89, a current ratio of 4.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market cap of $138.45 billion, a PE ratio of 27.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.07.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.04. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 45.63% and a net margin of 34.13%.The company had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.96 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Southern Copper Corporation will post 6.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SCCO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $171.00 target price on Southern Copper and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Southern Copper from $117.50 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective (up from $133.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Friday. UBS Group lowered their target price on Southern Copper from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern Copper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and seven have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern Copper has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $144.43.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 193 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.60, for a total value of $33,697.80. Following the sale, the director owned 1,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $298,042.20. This trade represents a 10.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 300 shares of company stock valued at $52,848. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

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.