Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO Shares Bought by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 106,792 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,278 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $21,640,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC increased its stake in Southern Copper by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC now owns 6,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,084,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,030 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $865,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Emergent Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Emergent Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,366 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $935,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,802 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Howard Financial Services LTD. grew its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 1,587 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern Copper news, Director Luis Palomino Bonilla sold 202 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.79, for a total value of $39,751.28. Following the sale, the director owned 1,723 shares in the company, valued at $339,066.65. This trade represents a 10.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold a total of 704 shares of company stock valued at $138,077 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SCCO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Southern Copper from $168.97 to $169.96 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays set a $164.03 price objective on shares of Southern Copper and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Southern Copper from $125.49 to $129.94 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Southern Copper from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $138.34 price objective (up from $133.40) on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Three investment 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, Southern Copper presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $146.84.

Southern Copper Price Performance

NYSE:SCCO traded up $0.55 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $206.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 271,916 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,550,251. Southern Copper Corporation has a twelve month low of $119.25 and a twelve month high of $223.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 5.06 and a quick ratio of 4.56. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $197.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $184.49. The company has a market capitalization of $171.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.15, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.11.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last posted 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 net margin of 35.87% and a return on equity of 49.04%. 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% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Southern Copper Corporation will post 7.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th were paid a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. 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. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is currently 64.33%.

Southern Copper Company Profile

Southern Copper Corp. is an integrated copper producer engaged in the exploration, mining, processing, smelting and refining of copper and other minerals. Its principal products include copper cathodes, copper concentrates, molybdenum, zinc, silver and lead. The company also produces sulfuric acid and other byproducts through its metallurgical operations.

Southern Copper operates major mining and processing assets in Mexico and Peru. Its Mexican operations include the Buenavista del Cobre and La Caridad mining complexes, while its Peruvian operations include the Cuajone and Toquepala mines.