Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO Shares Purchased by Barings LLC

Key Points

• Barings LLC sharply increased its stake in Southern Copper, boosting holdings by 700% in the fourth quarter to 61,478 shares valued at about $8.82 million.
• Southern Copper posted strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.92 and revenue of $4.25 billion, both ahead of analyst estimates. The company also reported solid profitability, including a 45.63% return on equity.
• Analysts remain cautious on the stock overall: Southern Copper has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $145.14, even though the shares recently traded around $181.91 and the company paid a $1.00 quarterly dividend.

Barings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO - Free Report) by 700.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,478 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 53,793 shares during the period. Barings LLC's holdings in Southern Copper were worth $8,820,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,030 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $865,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al lifted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 6,072 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $871,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,910 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Centerstone Investors LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Centerstone Investors LLC now owns 6,998 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,004,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 4,813 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $691,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on SCCO. UBS Group boosted their price target on Southern Copper from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Bank of America cut Southern Copper from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $162.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. 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 research note on Friday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $171.00 target price on Southern Copper and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Southern Copper from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and eight have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern Copper presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $145.14.

Southern Copper Stock Up 8.4%

Shares of NYSE:SCCO opened at $181.91 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.09. Southern Copper Corporation has a 1-year low of $88.73 and a 1-year high of $223.88. The company's fifty day moving average is $183.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $175.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 3.89 and a current ratio of 4.38.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.96 billion. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 45.63% and a net margin of 34.13%. Equities analysts anticipate that Southern Copper Corporation will post 7.25 EPS for the current year.

Southern Copper Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Southern Copper's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.82, for a total value of $35,564.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,807 shares in the company, valued at $321,320.74. This trade represents a 9.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 404 shares of company stock valued at $74,108. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

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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