Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) Plans -- Dividend of $1.01

Key Points

• Southern Copper Corporation has declared a dividend of $1.01 per share, marking a 62.9% increase from its previous dividend of $0.62, with an ex-dividend date set for August 15th.
• The company has a dividend payout ratio of 63.1%, indicating that the dividend is well-covered by earnings, with anticipated earnings of $4.57 per share next year.
• Southern Copper's stock recently traded at $98.22, with analysts maintaining an average rating of "Hold" and a target price of $91.00.

Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO - Get Free Report) declared a -- dividend on Friday, July 25th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of 1.01 per share by the basic materials company on Thursday, September 4th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This is a 62.9% increase from Southern Copper's previous -- dividend of $0.62.

Southern Copper has a dividend payout ratio of 63.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Southern Copper to earn $4.57 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 61.3%.

Southern Copper Price Performance

Shares of Southern Copper stock traded down $1.26 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $98.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 992,898 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,425,430. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $96.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.84. Southern Copper has a 12-month low of $74.84 and a 12-month high of $121.44. The company has a market cap of $78.20 billion, a PE ratio of 21.49, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 3.22 and a current ratio of 3.71.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.14. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 39.39% and a net margin of 30.00%. The firm had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.05 billion. Analysts expect that Southern Copper will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SCCO has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $99.00 target price (up from $86.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Itau BBA Securities raised Southern Copper from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Southern Copper from $83.50 to $79.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Southern Copper from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, UBS Group lowered Southern Copper from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $105.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern Copper currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $91.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern Copper

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Southern Copper by 17.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,705 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $627,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in Southern Copper by 21.5% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,944 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $556,000 after buying an additional 1,052 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 42.1% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 44,879 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,194,000 after purchasing an additional 13,293 shares during the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Southern Copper

Southern Copper Corporation engages in mining, exploring, smelting, and refining copper and other minerals in Peru, Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador, and Chile. The company is involved in the mining, milling, and flotation of copper ore to produce copper and molybdenum concentrates; smelting of copper concentrates to produce blister and anode copper; refining of anode copper to produce copper cathodes; production of molybdenum concentrate and sulfuric acid; production of refined silver, gold, and other materials; and mining and processing of zinc, copper, molybdenum, silver, gold, and lead.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.