Westpac Banking Corp Buys New Stake in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Westpac Banking Corp purchased a new position in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 9,732 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,696,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in Southern Copper by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 192,523 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,126,000 after acquiring an additional 33,638 shares during the period. Fund Advisors of America Inc FL purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the second quarter valued at approximately $870,000. RFG Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the fourth quarter worth $1,147,000. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 16.2% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 74,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,687,000 after purchasing an additional 10,360 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashoka WhiteOak Capital Pte Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Southern Copper in the fourth quarter valued at $5,460,000. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

Southern Copper stock opened at $216.30 on Friday. Southern Copper Corporation has a 52 week low of $92.94 and a 52 week high of $223.88. The company has a current ratio of 5.06, a quick ratio of 4.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $180.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $182.23 and a 200-day moving average of $183.20.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $4.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.37 billion. Southern Copper had a net margin of 35.87% and a return on equity of 49.04%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Southern Copper Corporation will post 7.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. This is an increase from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SCCO. Zacks Research lowered shares of Southern Copper from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Southern Copper from $144.27 to $156.13 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. CICC Research cut shares of Southern Copper to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Southern Copper from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and seven have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $146.84.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 202 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $339,066.65. The trade was a 10.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 509 shares of company stock worth $97,753. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.