Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Takes Position in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. has acquired a new stake in Southern Copper Corporation, purchasing 431,612 shares valued at approximately $40.3 million.
• Southern Copper recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.62 to $1.01, representing a 3.9% yield.
• A consensus of analysts currently rates Southern Copper with a "Reduce" outlook and a target price of $93.60.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 431,612 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $40,338,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Southern Copper at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SCCO. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 117.6% during the first quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 272 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the first quarter worth $29,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the first quarter worth $34,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the first quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Twin Tree Management LP lifted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 583.5% during the first quarter. Twin Tree Management LP now owns 622 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 414 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $41,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,327 shares in the company, valued at $232,700. The trade was a 15.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold a total of 1,028 shares of company stock worth $102,014 in the last three months. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on SCCO. UBS Group cut shares of Southern Copper from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $105.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $99.00 price target (up previously from $86.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $79.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Itau BBA Securities upgraded shares of Southern Copper from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southern Copper from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $93.60.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

SCCO stock traded up $2.63 during trading on Thursday, hitting $104.73. 219,774 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,399,578. The company has a quick ratio of 4.51, a current ratio of 5.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Southern Copper Corporation has a 52 week low of $74.84 and a 52 week high of $121.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $98.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.99.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $1.01 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Southern Copper's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Southern Copper's payout ratio is presently 70.02%.

About Southern Copper

Southern Copper Corporation engages in mining, exploring, smelting, and refining copper and other minerals in Peru, Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador, and Chile. The company is involved in the mining, milling, and flotation of copper ore to produce copper and molybdenum concentrates; smelting of copper concentrates to produce blister and anode copper; refining of anode copper to produce copper cathodes; production of molybdenum concentrate and sulfuric acid; production of refined silver, gold, and other materials; and mining and processing of zinc, copper, molybdenum, silver, gold, and lead.