Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Buys Shares of 32,634 Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Key Points

• Westfield Capital Management initiated a new position in Southern Copper, buying 32,634 shares valued at about $4.68 million in the fourth quarter.
• Institutional ownership remains significant, with firms like Capital World Investors, State Street, Fisher Asset Management, and Vanguard all adding to their Southern Copper stakes.
• Analysts are cautious on the stock overall: Southern Copper has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $145.14, even after some firms raised their individual targets.

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 32,634 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $4,682,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Southern Copper by 36.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,437,608 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $781,268,000 after purchasing an additional 1,708,693 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Southern Copper by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,795,976 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $339,320,000 after purchasing an additional 40,847 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Southern Copper by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,536,228 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $363,873,000 after purchasing an additional 7,194 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Southern Copper by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,091,632 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $132,479,000 after purchasing an additional 123,532 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Southern Copper by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 983,822 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $141,149,000 after purchasing an additional 33,804 shares during the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on SCCO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Southern Copper from $117.50 to $127.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $171.00 price objective on shares of Southern Copper and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Southern Copper from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Scotiabank restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $135.00 price objective (up from $133.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Friday, May 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and eight have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $145.14.

Insider Transactions at Southern Copper

In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.82, for a total transaction of $35,564.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,807 shares in the company, valued at $321,320.74. This represents a 9.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 604 shares of company stock worth $109,136. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

Shares of SCCO stock opened at $173.41 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $182.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $173.32. 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 Corporation has a one year low of $88.73 and a one year high of $223.88. The firm has a market cap of $142.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Southern Copper Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Southern Copper's dividend payout ratio is 66.12%.

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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