Regal Partners Ltd Boosts Stake in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Key Points

• Regal Partners Ltd increased its stake in Southern Copper by 39.4% in Q3 to 62,463 shares valued at $7.58 million, making SCCO about 0.5% of the fund and its 25th largest holding.
• Analyst sentiment is weak: MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of "Reduce" with an average price target of $139.99 after several downgrades and a majority of sell/underweight ratings.
• Company updates: Southern Copper raised its quarterly dividend to $1.00 ($4.00 annual, ~2.2% yield), the stock has a market cap near $150 billion and a P/E around 34.7, and an insider sold 9,326 shares, cutting their ownership by about 93.9%.

Regal Partners Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO - Free Report) by 39.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 62,463 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 17,654 shares during the period. Southern Copper comprises about 0.5% of Regal Partners Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Regal Partners Ltd's holdings in Southern Copper were worth $7,581,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Southern Copper during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Southern Copper by 65.1% in the 3rd quarter. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. now owns 213 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Tobam purchased a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. United Community Bank purchased a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. 7.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SCCO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of Southern Copper from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $116.51 price objective (down from $118.49) on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Friday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "sell" rating and issued a $127.91 target price on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Southern Copper from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $162.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and eight have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern Copper presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $139.99.

Southern Copper Stock Down 3.8%

Shares of NYSE:SCCO opened at $184.64 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average is $186.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $146.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a current ratio of 3.89. Southern Copper Corporation has a 1-year low of $74.84 and a 1-year high of $223.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.03.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 10th. This is an increase from Southern Copper's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Southern Copper's payout ratio is presently 75.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Lerdo De Tejada Leon Contreras sold 9,326 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.56, for a total transaction of $1,954,344.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 605 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $126,783.04. This represents a 93.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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