Empowered Funds LLC Buys 45,360 Shares of Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) by 896.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 50,422 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 45,360 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $8,676,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 0.8% in 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 boosted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 6,072 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $871,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,910 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $417,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 6,379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $915,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venture Visionary Partners LLC raised its position in Southern Copper by 0.8% in the 4th 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. 7.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Copper Stock Down 1.7%

SCCO stock opened at $184.42 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $153.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.11. Southern Copper Corporation has a twelve month low of $92.57 and a twelve month high of $223.88. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $179.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $182.98. The company has a quick ratio of 4.56, a current ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.06. The company 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 40.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Southern Copper Corporation will post 7.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders 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 2.4%. This is an increase from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is currently 64.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Southern Copper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Southern Copper from $144.27 to $156.13 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. CICC Research cut shares of Southern Copper to a “market perform” rating in a report on Sunday, July 26th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $138.34 target price (up from $133.40) on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Barclays set a $164.03 target price on shares of Southern Copper and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and seven have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern Copper currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $146.84.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 202 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.79, for a total value of $39,751.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,723 shares in the company, valued at $339,066.65. This trade represents a 10.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 711 shares of company stock valued at $133,247 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

About Southern Copper

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.