Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd. Acquires Shares of 32,800 Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Key Points

• Nan Shan Life Insurance acquired 32,800 Southern Copper shares worth approximately $5.7 million during the second quarter. Other major institutions, including BlackRock and Bank of America, also initiated sizable positions.
• Southern Copper reported quarterly earnings of $1.99 per share, beating estimates, while revenue rose 40.6% year over year to $4.29 billion. The company increased its quarterly dividend to $1.10, representing a 2.2% annualized yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: three analysts rate the stock a Buy, five a Hold and seven a Sell, producing an average “Reduce” rating and a consensus price target of $146.84, below its reported $200.97 share price.

Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. 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 32,800 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $5,716,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Southern Copper during the 2nd quarter worth $1,729,500,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Southern Copper in the 2nd quarter valued at about $318,448,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the second quarter valued at about $149,739,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the fourth quarter worth about $97,645,000. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the fourth quarter worth about $81,039,000. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

Shares of SCCO stock opened at $200.97 on Wednesday. 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 one year low of $92.94 and a one year high of $223.88. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $185.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $183.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.38, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.14.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.99 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $4.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.37 billion. Southern Copper's quarterly revenue was up 40.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Southern Copper Corporation will post 7.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were issued a $1.10 dividend. This is a boost from Southern Copper's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 11th. Southern Copper's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino 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 directly owned 1,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $339,066.65. This trade represents a 10.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 408 shares of company stock valued at $77,793 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on SCCO. Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern Copper from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Barclays set a $164.03 price objective on Southern Copper and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised Southern Copper from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. UBS Group reiterated a "sell" rating and set a $158.10 target price (up from $143.28) on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Southern Copper from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and seven have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $146.84.

About Southern Copper

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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