Ashoka WhiteOak Capital Pte Ltd Invests $5.46 Million in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Key Points

• Ashoka WhiteOak Capital Pte Ltd disclosed a new fourth-quarter position in Southern Copper, buying 37,529 shares valued at about $5.46 million. The stake makes SCCO its 7th-largest holding and represents about 2.1% of its portfolio.
• Southern Copper recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting EPS of $1.92 versus $1.88 expected and revenue of $4.25 billion versus $3.96 billion forecast. Analysts still have a cautious view overall, with the stock rated an average “Reduce” and a price target of $144.25.
• The company announced a 1.01-for-1 stock split effective May 13 and a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, implying a 2.2% yield. Shares were trading around $185.12, near their 52-week high of $223.88.

Ashoka WhiteOak Capital Pte Ltd acquired a new position in Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 37,529 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $5,460,000. Southern Copper comprises approximately 2.1% of Ashoka WhiteOak Capital Pte Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SCCO. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the third quarter worth $25,000. United Community Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the third quarter worth $30,000. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the third quarter worth $30,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SCCO. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Southern Copper from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $171.00 target price on shares of Southern Copper and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Southern Copper from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Southern Copper from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $178.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and seven have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $144.25.

Southern Copper Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of SCCO stock opened at $185.12 on Tuesday. Southern Copper Corporation has a 1 year low of $88.54 and a 1 year high of $223.88. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $181.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $166.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.07. 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 shares are going to split on Wednesday, May 13th. The 1.01-1 split was recently announced. The newly minted shares will be distributed to shareholders after the market closes on Tuesday, May 12th.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.96 billion. Southern Copper had a net margin of 34.13% and a return on equity of 45.63%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Southern Copper Corporation will post 6.99 EPS for the current year.

Southern Copper Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. Southern Copper's payout ratio is 66.12%.

Insider Transactions at Southern Copper

In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 193 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.60, for a total value of $33,697.80. Following the sale, the director owned 1,707 shares of the company's stock, valued at $298,042.20. The trade was a 10.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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