Nomura Holdings Inc. Makes New $529,000 Investment in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Key Points

• Nomura Holdings Inc. has made an investment of $529,000 in Southern Copper Corporation by purchasing 5,663 shares during the first quarter of the year.
• Several hedge funds have adjusted their positions in Southern Copper, with Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increasing its holdings by 117.6% and Twin Tree Management LP increasing theirs by 583.5% in the same period.
• Southern Copper recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.01 per share, marking an increase from $0.62 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 4.0%.

Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,663 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $529,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SCCO. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Southern Copper by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 80,561 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $7,341,000 after purchasing an additional 959 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of Southern Copper by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 22,829 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,080,000 after buying an additional 3,705 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern Copper in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,055,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 216,969 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $19,772,000 after acquiring an additional 24,398 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in Southern Copper by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 5,860 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $534,000 after acquiring an additional 757 shares in the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SCCO traded up $2.18 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $103.00. 1,420,345 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 958,383. The company has a quick ratio of 4.51, a current ratio of 5.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $98.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.12. Southern Copper Corporation has a twelve month low of $74.84 and a twelve month high of $121.44. The firm has a market cap of $82.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.54, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.99.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a $1.01 dividend. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. This is an increase from Southern Copper's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Southern Copper's payout ratio is currently 70.02%.

Insider Activity at Southern Copper

In related news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 414 shares of Southern Copper stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $41,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,327 shares in the company, valued at $232,700. The trade was a 15.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,028 shares of company stock worth $102,014. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on SCCO shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $99.00 target price (up from $86.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southern Copper from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Itau BBA Securities raised shares of Southern Copper from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Southern Copper from $79.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group lowered Southern Copper from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $105.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $93.60.

Southern Copper Profile

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.