BlackRock Inc. Buys New Holdings in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 9.92 million Southern Copper shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $1.73 billion and representing a 1.20% stake. Several other major institutions also initiated positions, bringing institutional and hedge-fund ownership to 7.94%.
• Southern Copper reported quarterly EPS of $1.99, beating estimates of $1.93, while revenue rose 40.6% year over year to $4.29 billion. The company raised its quarterly dividend from $1.00 to $1.10, equating to a 2.3% yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock has an average “Reduce” rating and a consensus price target of $146.84, below its reported opening price of $194.57. An insider also sold shares, though insiders own just 0.07% of the company.

BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 9,924,823 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,729,500,000. BlackRock Inc. owned 1.20% of Southern Copper as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Southern Copper in the 2nd quarter valued at $696,621,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Southern Copper in the fourth quarter valued at $97,645,000. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new position in shares of Southern Copper in the fourth quarter valued at about $81,039,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the 1st quarter worth about $85,342,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in Southern Copper in the 2nd quarter valued at about $85,770,000. 7.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern Copper

In other news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 202 shares of the 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 sale, the director directly owned 1,723 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $339,066.65. This represents a 10.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 509 shares of company stock worth $97,753. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Southern Copper Price Performance

Shares of Southern Copper stock opened at $194.57 on Thursday. Southern Copper Corporation has a twelve month low of $92.57 and a twelve month high of $223.88. The company has a quick ratio of 4.56, a current ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $181.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $182.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $162.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.11.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.06. Southern Copper had a net margin of 35.87% and a return on equity of 49.04%. The firm had revenue of $4.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.37 billion. The company's revenue was up 40.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Southern Copper Corporation will post 7.61 EPS for the current year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be issued a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from Southern Copper's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Southern Copper's payout ratio is presently 64.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on SCCO. Barclays set a $164.03 price target on shares of Southern Copper and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Southern Copper from $168.97 to $169.96 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Citigroup reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Southern Copper from $125.49 to $129.94 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Southern Copper from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and seven have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $146.84.

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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