Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO Shares Bought by USS Investment Management Ltd

USS Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) by 904.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 301,655 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 271,634 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $43,272,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new position in Southern Copper in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Southern Copper in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in Southern Copper in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Southern Copper in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Southern Copper by 233.3% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SCCO opened at $189.72 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.89, a current ratio of 4.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $155.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.36, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $183.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $175.56. Southern Copper Corporation has a 52-week low of $88.73 and a 52-week high of $223.88.

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

Southern Copper Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th were issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is presently 66.12%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 200 shares of Southern Copper stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.82, for a total value of $35,564.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,807 shares in the company, valued at $321,320.74. The trade was a 9.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 404 shares of company stock valued at $74,108. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America downgraded Southern Copper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $162.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Southern Copper from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Southern Copper from $117.50 to $127.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Southern Copper from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $178.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern Copper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and eight have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $145.14.

Southern Copper Company 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.