Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO Shares Bought by D.A. Davidson & CO.

Key Points

• D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in Southern Copper by 37.5% in Q4, buying an additional 9,181 shares to hold 33,638 shares valued at about $4.83 million.
• Insiders have been net sellers, disposing of 9,526 shares worth roughly $1.99 million in the last quarter, leaving insiders with just 0.07% ownership.
• Analysts' consensus remains a "Reduce" with a $145.61 price target despite Southern Copper's recent earnings beat (EPS $1.92 vs. $1.88) and a $1.00 quarterly dividend (annualized yield ~2.4%).

D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO - Free Report) by 37.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,638 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,181 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.'s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $4,826,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCCO. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,976,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 148,484 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $17,778,000 after acquiring an additional 7,995 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 2,631.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 13,441 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,631,000 after acquiring an additional 12,949 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 54.2% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 35,647 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,326,000 after acquiring an additional 12,532 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 159.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,308 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,251,000 after acquiring an additional 6,341 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.94% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 193 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.60, for a total transaction of $33,697.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,707 shares of the company's stock, valued at $298,042.20. This represents a 10.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Lerdo De Tejada Leon Contreras sold 9,326 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.56, for a total value of $1,954,344.91. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $126,783.04. This represents a 93.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,526 shares of company stock worth $1,989,373. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SCCO. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Southern Copper from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Friday, March 27th. Citigroup restated a "sell" rating on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Monday, January 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Southern Copper from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $178.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $186.00 price target on Southern Copper and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and seven have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $145.61.

Southern Copper Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SCCO opened at $168.04 on Thursday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $184.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $164.39. The stock has a market cap of $137.64 billion, a PE ratio of 31.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 3.40 and a current ratio of 3.89. Southern Copper Corporation has a one year low of $86.59 and a one year high of $223.88.

Shares of Southern Copper are going to split on Wednesday, May 13th. The 1.01-1 split was recently announced. The newly issued shares will be payable to shareholders after the market closes on Tuesday, May 12th.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.96 billion. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 41.97% and a net margin of 32.30%. On average, analysts forecast that Southern Copper Corporation will post 6.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. Southern Copper's dividend payout ratio is 75.19%.

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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