Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Takes Position in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management initiated a Southern Copper position worth approximately $950,000, while several other institutions also bought shares. Institutional and hedge-fund ownership now represents 7.94% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: SCCO has a consensus “Reduce” rating, with three Buy, five Hold and seven Sell ratings and an average price target of $146.84—well below its recent $211.58 price.
• Southern Copper exceeded quarterly earnings expectations with EPS of $1.99, while revenue rose 40.6% year over year. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $1.10 per share, implying a 2.1% annual yield.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 5,449 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $950,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new stake in Southern Copper during the 2nd quarter worth $1,777,000. Compass Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern Copper in the 2nd quarter valued at about $41,000. Commerce Bank purchased a new position in Southern Copper in the 2nd quarter valued at about $10,683,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new position in Southern Copper in the 2nd quarter valued at about $963,000. Finally, Cadence Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the second quarter valued at about $674,000. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 202 shares of Southern Copper stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.79, for a total value of $39,751.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $339,066.65. This trade represents a 10.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 509 shares of company stock worth $97,753. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SCCO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Southern Copper from $168.97 to $169.96 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays set a $164.03 price target on Southern Copper and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. CICC Research downgraded Southern Copper to a "market perform" rating in a report on Sunday, July 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered Southern Copper from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "sell" rating and issued a $158.10 target price (up from $143.28) on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $146.84.

Southern Copper Price Performance

SCCO opened at $211.58 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $176.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.93, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50-day moving average of $184.67 and a 200-day moving average of $183.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 4.56 and a current ratio of 5.06. Southern Copper Corporation has a 1-year low of $92.94 and a 1-year high of $223.88.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $4.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.37 billion. Southern Copper had a net margin of 35.87% and a return on equity of 49.04%. The business's revenue was up 40.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Southern Copper Corporation will post 7.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were paid 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Southern Copper's payout ratio is currently 64.33%.

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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