Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Increases Position in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) by 13.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 401,272 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 47,142 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $56,222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SCCO. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Southern Copper in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. purchased a new stake in Southern Copper in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in Southern Copper in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Southern Copper in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Southern Copper by 233.3% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SCCO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Southern Copper from $117.50 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Friday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Southern Copper from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $178.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Thursday, May 21st. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $148.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Southern Copper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and eight have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $145.14.

Insider Activity at Southern Copper

In other news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.82, for a total transaction of $35,564.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,807 shares in the company, valued at $321,320.74. This trade represents a 9.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 604 shares of company stock worth $109,136. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southern Copper Stock Down 10.7%

SCCO opened at $173.41 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.38, a quick ratio of 3.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Southern Copper Corporation has a 1-year low of $88.73 and a 1-year high of $223.88. The company has a market capitalization of $142.04 billion, a PE ratio of 28.66, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $182.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $173.32.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.04. Southern Copper had a net margin of 34.13% and a return on equity of 45.63%. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.96 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Southern Copper Corporation will post 7.25 EPS for the current year.

Southern Copper Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.12%.

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.