SG Americas Securities LLC Buys 42,457 Shares of Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) by 79.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 96,135 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 42,457 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $13,792,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SCCO. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Southern Copper during the third quarter worth about $2,976,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 5.7% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 148,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $17,778,000 after buying an additional 7,995 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 2,631.9% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 13,441 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,631,000 after buying an additional 12,949 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 54.2% during the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 35,647 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,326,000 after acquiring an additional 12,532 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 159.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,308 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,251,000 after acquiring an additional 6,341 shares during the period. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

NYSE:SCCO opened at $161.91 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $189.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $153.80. The stock has a market cap of $132.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.43, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.03. Southern Copper Corporation has a 1-year low of $74.84 and a 1-year high of $223.88. The company has a current ratio of 3.89, a quick ratio of 3.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.73 billion. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 41.97% and a net margin of 32.30%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Southern Copper Corporation will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is a boost from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 10th. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SCCO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $190.38 price objective on shares of Southern Copper and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Southern Copper from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Zacks Research lowered shares of Southern Copper from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $154.69 target price on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and eight have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern Copper presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $139.20.

Insider Activity

In other Southern Copper news, Director Lerdo De Tejada Leon Contreras sold 9,326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.56, for a total value of $1,954,344.91. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $126,783.04. The trade was a 93.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 193 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.60, for a total transaction of $33,697.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $298,042.20. The trade was a 10.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 9,526 shares of company stock worth $1,989,373 over the last 90 days. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.