Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO Shares Bought by Royal London Asset Management Ltd.

Key Points

• Royal London Asset Management increased its Southern Copper position by 5.5% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 146,392 shares valued at approximately $25.5 million. Other institutions also added positions or increased stakes, though institutional investors collectively own only 7.94% of the stock.
• Southern Copper reported quarterly EPS of $1.99, beating estimates, while revenue rose 40.6% year over year to $4.29 billion. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.10 per share, implying a 2.1% annualized yield.
• Despite the stock trading near its 12-month high at $211.58, analysts remain cautious, with a consensus “Reduce” rating and an average price target of $146.84. Recent insider activity was also negative, as company directors sold shares.

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO - Free Report) by 5.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 146,392 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,572 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.'s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $25,510,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fund Advisors of America Inc FL acquired a new position in Southern Copper during the second quarter worth about $870,000. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 21.2% during the first quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 192,523 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $33,126,000 after acquiring an additional 33,638 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG acquired a new position in Southern Copper in the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,266,000. RFG Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the 4th quarter worth about $1,147,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Southern Copper by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 74,484 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $10,687,000 after buying an additional 10,360 shares during the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Copper Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE SCCO opened at $211.58 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $184.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $183.78. The company has a current ratio of 5.06, a quick ratio of 4.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Southern Copper Corporation has a 12-month low of $92.94 and a 12-month high of $223.88. The company has a market cap of $176.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.11.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $4.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.37 billion. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 49.04% and a net margin of 35.87%.The company's revenue was up 40.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Southern Copper Corporation will post 7.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were given a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 11th. This is an increase from Southern Copper's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Southern Copper's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on SCCO shares. Scotiabank reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $138.34 price target (up from $133.40) on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Barclays set a $164.03 price objective on shares of Southern Copper and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $168.97 to $169.96 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Southern Copper from $125.49 to $129.94 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Southern Copper from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and seven have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern Copper currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $146.84.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern Copper

In related news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 202 shares of Southern Copper stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.79, for a total value of $39,751.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $339,066.65. The trade was a 10.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 509 shares of company stock worth $97,753 over the last three months. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Southern Copper Company Profile

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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