164,587 Shares in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO Bought by Strs Ohio

Key Points

• Strs Ohio purchased 164,587 shares of Southern Copper Corporation ($SCCO) in the first quarter, indicating significant investor interest valued at approximately $15.4 million.
• Southern Copper announced a quarterly dividend of $1.01 per share, increasing from the previous $0.62, which reflects a dividend yield of 3.8%.
• Several analysts have recently adjusted their ratings on SCCO, with JPMorgan Chase raising its price objective from $79.00 to $92.00 while UBS downgraded it to a "neutral" rating.

Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 164,587 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $15,382,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 8.5% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,664 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $342,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 21.5% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,944 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $556,000 after acquiring an additional 1,052 shares during the period. Flaharty Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Southern Copper by 48.9% in the 1st quarter. Flaharty Asset Management LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 1,319 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its stake in Southern Copper by 669.1% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 6,068 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $567,000 after buying an additional 5,279 shares during the period. Finally, Alaethes Wealth LLC increased its stake in Southern Copper by 28.2% in the 1st quarter. Alaethes Wealth LLC now owns 14,357 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,342,000 after buying an additional 3,161 shares during the period. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Southern Copper from $79.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $99.00 target price (up from $86.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Itau BBA Securities upgraded shares of Southern Copper from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. UBS Group cut shares of Southern Copper from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $105.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $89.00 price objective on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $92.83.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

Shares of SCCO traded up $0.45 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $107.33. The stock had a trading volume of 1,682,433 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,173,311. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 4.51 and a current ratio of 5.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $98.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.94. Southern Copper Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $74.84 and a fifty-two week high of $121.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.49, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.99.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $1.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. This is an increase from Southern Copper's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Southern Copper's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.02%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 414 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $41,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,327 shares in the company, valued at $232,700. The trade was a 15.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,228 shares of company stock valued at $123,102. Insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Southern Copper Company Profile

Southern Copper Corporation engages in mining, exploring, smelting, and refining copper and other minerals in Peru, Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador, and Chile. The company is involved in the mining, milling, and flotation of copper ore to produce copper and molybdenum concentrates; smelting of copper concentrates to produce blister and anode copper; refining of anode copper to produce copper cathodes; production of molybdenum concentrate and sulfuric acid; production of refined silver, gold, and other materials; and mining and processing of zinc, copper, molybdenum, silver, gold, and lead.