HighTower Advisors LLC Buys 6,195 Shares of Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO - Free Report) by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 58,421 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 6,195 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Southern Copper were worth $10,180,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SCCO. Fund Advisors of America Inc FL acquired a new position in Southern Copper in the second quarter valued at about $870,000. Equitable Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the second quarter worth approximately $505,000. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 21.2% in the first quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 192,523 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $33,126,000 after acquiring an additional 33,638 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG bought a new position in shares of Southern Copper in the second quarter valued at approximately $5,266,000. Finally, Precision Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern Copper in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,769,000. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Southern Copper

In other news, Director Luis Palomino Bonilla sold 202 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.79, for a total value of $39,751.28. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,723 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $339,066.65. This trade represents a 10.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 504 shares of company stock worth $97,077. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on SCCO shares. Zacks Research cut Southern Copper from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. CICC Research lowered Southern Copper to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Southern Copper from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Southern Copper from $168.97 to $169.96 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Southern Copper from $144.27 to $156.13 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and seven have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern Copper presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $146.84.

Southern Copper Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of SCCO opened at $209.76 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.67, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 4.56 and a current ratio of 5.06. The business's fifty day moving average price is $189.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $184.30. Southern Copper Corporation has a 52 week low of $100.43 and a 52 week high of $223.88.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO - Get Free Report) last released its 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 return on equity of 49.04% and a net margin of 35.87%.The company had revenue of $4.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.37 billion. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 40.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Southern Copper Corporation will post 7.59 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. This is an increase from Southern Copper's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Southern Copper's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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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