The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Invests $5.79 Million in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 33,251 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,794,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Southern Copper in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,729,500,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Southern Copper in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $696,621,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the fourth quarter worth $97,645,000. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new position in Southern Copper during the 4th quarter valued at about $81,039,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in Southern Copper during the first quarter valued at approximately $85,342,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SCCO opened at $209.09 on Tuesday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $185.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $183.86. The company has a market cap of $174.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.11. Southern Copper Corporation has a 12 month low of $92.94 and a 12 month high of $223.88.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $4.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.37 billion. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 49.04% and a net margin of 35.87%.Southern Copper’s quarterly revenue was up 40.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Southern Copper Corporation will post 7.61 EPS for the current year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were issued a $1.10 dividend. This is a boost from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is currently 64.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 202 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 1,723 shares in the company, valued at $339,066.65. This trade represents a 10.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 408 shares of company stock valued at $77,793. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on SCCO shares. Barclays set a $164.03 price target on shares of Southern Copper and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Southern Copper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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 shares of Southern Copper to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 26th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $138.34 target price (up from $133.40) on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Monday, June 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and seven have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern Copper currently 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.