Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Purchases New Shares in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co acquired a new position in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 67,809 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,816,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCCO. Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new position in Southern Copper in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Southern Copper during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. SHP Wealth Management bought a new position in Southern Copper in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new position in Southern Copper in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 202 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the director owned 1,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $339,066.65. The trade was a 10.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 509 shares of company stock valued at $97,753. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SCCO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Southern Copper from $125.49 to $129.94 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Southern Copper from $168.97 to $169.96 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Southern Copper from $144.27 to $156.13 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Southern Copper from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $138.34 target price (up from $133.40) on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and seven have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $146.84.

Southern Copper Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:SCCO opened at $216.30 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 5.06, a quick ratio of 4.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Southern Copper Corporation has a 1-year low of $92.94 and a 1-year high of $223.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.62, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.11. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $182.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $183.16.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.06. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 49.04% and a net margin of 35.87%.The company had revenue of $4.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.37 billion. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Southern Copper Corporation will post 7.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This is a positive change from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is 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.