Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Purchases Shares of 5,528 Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new position in Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,528 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $963,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SCCO. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 42.1% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 44,879 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,194,000 after purchasing an additional 13,293 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Southern Copper by 17.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,705 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $627,000 after buying an additional 1,020 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake 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 valued at $556,000 after buying an additional 1,052 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Southern Copper by 37.4% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 73,379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,424,000 after buying an additional 19,957 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Southern Copper by 17.7% during the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,864 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $492,000 after buying an additional 731 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of SCCO stock opened at $219.70 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $183.30 billion, a PE ratio of 32.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.11. Southern Copper Corporation has a 1 year low of $92.94 and a 1 year high of $223.88. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $183.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $183.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 5.06 and a quick ratio of 4.56.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.06. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 49.04% and a net margin of 35.87%.The firm had revenue of $4.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.37 billion. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Southern Copper Corporation will post 7.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 2.0%. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is presently 64.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on SCCO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Southern Copper from $125.49 to $129.94 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Southern Copper from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. CICC Research cut shares of Southern Copper to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 26th. Barclays set a $164.03 price target on shares of Southern Copper and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Southern Copper from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and seven have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $146.84.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 202 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.79, for a total transaction of $39,751.28. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,723 shares in the company, valued at $339,066.65. The trade was a 10.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold a total of 509 shares of company stock worth $97,753 in the last quarter. 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.