Bank of America Corp DE Makes New Investment in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired 1.83 million Southern Copper shares worth approximately $318.4 million during the second quarter, giving it a 0.22% stake. Other institutional investors also initiated positions, though institutional ownership remains relatively low at 7.94%.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed to negative, with three Buy, five Hold and seven Sell ratings; MarketBeat’s consensus rating is “Reduce” with an average price target of $146.84.
• Southern Copper beat quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $1.99 versus the $1.93 consensus, while revenue rose 40.6% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.10 per share, equal to a 2.3% annualized yield.

Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,827,433 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $318,448,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.22% of Southern Copper at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SCCO. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec acquired a new stake in Southern Copper during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,081,000. Odyssean LLC bought a new stake in Southern Copper in the second quarter valued at $290,000. Man Group plc bought a new stake in Southern Copper in the second quarter valued at $3,663,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in Southern Copper during the second quarter worth $402,000. Finally, Wedbush Fund Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Southern Copper during the second quarter worth $407,000. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Southern Copper from $168.97 to $169.96 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. CICC Research cut shares of Southern Copper to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $125.49 to $129.94 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Citigroup restated a "positive" rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Barclays set a $164.03 price objective on shares of Southern Copper and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and seven have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $146.84.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern Copper

In other news, Director Luis Palomino Bonilla sold 202 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.79, for a total transaction of $39,751.28. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,723 shares of the company's stock, valued at $339,066.65. This represents a 10.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders sold a total of 604 shares of company stock worth $118,077 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Southern Copper Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE SCCO opened at $189.94 on Thursday. Southern Copper Corporation has a 1-year low of $105.10 and a 1-year high of $223.88. The company has a 50-day moving average of $191.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $183.71. The company has a market cap of $158.47 billion, a PE ratio of 27.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 5.06, a quick ratio of 4.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.06. Southern Copper had a net margin of 35.87% and a return on equity of 49.04%. The business had revenue of $4.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.37 billion. Southern Copper's revenue for the quarter was up 40.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Southern Copper Corporation will post 7.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were given a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 11th. This is an increase from Southern Copper's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Southern Copper's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.33%.

About Southern Copper

Southern Copper Corporation NYSE: SCCO is an integrated copper producer engaged in the exploration, mining, processing, smelting and refining of minerals. The company produces copper in the form of cathodes, concentrates and anodes, along with byproducts including molybdenum, zinc, silver, lead and sulfuric acid.

Southern Copper operates mining and processing facilities in Mexico and Peru. Its principal Mexican operations include the Buenavista del Cobre and La Caridad mining complexes, while its Peruvian operations include the Toquepala and Cuajone mines and the Ilo smelter and refinery.

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