OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Invests $1.50 Million in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new position in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 8,610 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,500,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Southern Copper in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,729,500,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the second quarter valued at approximately $696,621,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $97,645,000. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new position in shares of Southern Copper in the fourth quarter worth $81,039,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Southern Copper in the first quarter worth $85,342,000. Institutional investors own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of SCCO opened at $213.68 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $183.73 and its 200 day moving average is $183.58. Southern Copper Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $92.94 and a fifty-two week high of $223.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $178.28 billion, a PE ratio of 31.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 4.56 and a current ratio of 5.06.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.06. Southern Copper had a net margin of 35.87% and a return on equity of 49.04%. The business had revenue of $4.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.37 billion. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Southern Copper Corporation will post 7.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be given a $1.10 dividend. This is a boost from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is 64.33%.

Insider Transactions at Southern Copper

In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 202 shares of Southern Copper stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.79, for a total transaction of $39,751.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $339,066.65. The trade was a 10.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 509 shares of company stock valued at $97,753 in the last ninety days. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SCCO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays set a $164.03 target price on shares of Southern Copper and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Southern Copper from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Southern Copper from $125.49 to $129.94 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Citigroup restated a “positive” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, CICC Research cut Southern Copper to a “market perform” rating in a report on Sunday, July 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and seven have assigned 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 $146.84.

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.