Range Financial Group LLC Buys Shares of 5,049 Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Range Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,049 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $613,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 168,005 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Southern Copper by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,398,651 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $130,718,000 after buying an additional 44,014 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Southern Copper by 8.4% during the second quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 979,877 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $99,134,000 after acquiring an additional 75,653 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Southern Copper by 4.3% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 941,712 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $95,273,000 after acquiring an additional 38,856 shares during the period. Finally, Bollard Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 14.1% in the second quarter. Bollard Group LLC now owns 834,344 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $84,411,000 after acquiring an additional 103,014 shares in the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Southern Copper

In other news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.00, for a total value of $55,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,265 shares in the company, valued at $175,835. This trade represents a 24.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 948 shares of company stock worth $131,130. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Trading Down 2.9%

NYSE:SCCO opened at $145.24 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $117.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.07. Southern Copper Corporation has a twelve month low of $74.84 and a twelve month high of $152.19. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $136.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $116.28. The company has a quick ratio of 3.91, a current ratio of 4.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.09. Southern Copper had a net margin of 30.98% and a return on equity of 38.74%. The business had revenue of $3.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Southern Copper Corporation will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th were given a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is 75.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on SCCO shares. Wall Street Zen raised Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $143.00 target price (up from $135.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Friday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $115.00 price target (up previously from $89.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Southern Copper from $114.50 to $119.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Southern Copper from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $123.85.

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.