Insider Selling: Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Director Sells 100 Shares

Key Points

• Director insider sale: Luis Palomino Bonilla sold 100 Southern Copper shares at an average of $200, reducing his holdings by 5.87% to 1,603 shares. He had also sold shares in three earlier transactions.
• Strong market and operating performance: SCCO traded at $212.56, near its 52-week high, while quarterly EPS of $1.99 exceeded estimates and revenue rose 40.6% year over year.
• Dividend increased, but analyst sentiment remains cautious: Southern Copper raised its quarterly dividend to $1.10 per share, although analysts’ average rating is “Reduce” with a $146.84 price target.

Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO - Get Free Report) Director Luis Palomino Bonilla sold 100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $20,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,603 shares in the company, valued at $320,600. The trade was a 5.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, August 4th, Luis Palomino Bonilla sold 101 shares of Southern Copper stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.69, for a total value of $19,461.46.
• On Wednesday, August 5th, Luis Palomino Bonilla sold 202 shares of Southern Copper stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.79, for a total value of $39,751.28.
• On Friday, July 24th, Luis Palomino Bonilla sold 101 shares of Southern Copper stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.88, for a total value of $17,864.62.

Southern Copper Price Performance

NYSE SCCO traded up $13.80 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $212.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 439,597 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,605,077. Southern Copper Corporation has a 1 year low of $99.87 and a 1 year high of $223.88. The company has a quick ratio of 4.56, a current ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $177.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.00, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.14. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $188.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $184.04.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $4.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.37 billion. Southern Copper had a net margin of 35.87% and a return on equity of 49.04%. Southern Copper's revenue for the quarter was up 40.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Southern Copper Corporation will post 7.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern Copper

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,030 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $865,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al grew its position in Southern Copper by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 6,072 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $871,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Southern Copper by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,910 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $417,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Emergent Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Southern Copper by 1.0% during the second quarter. Emergent Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,366 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $935,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its stake in Southern Copper by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 6,379 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $915,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 7.94% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on SCCO shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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 note on Thursday, July 9th. CICC Research lowered Southern Copper to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 26th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern Copper from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and seven have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern Copper has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $146.84.

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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