Van ECK Associates Corp Purchases 12,255 Shares of Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 186,890 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,255 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $32,567,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Southern Copper during the second quarter valued at $1,729,500,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Southern Copper in the 2nd quarter worth about $696,621,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Southern Copper during the 2nd quarter valued at about $318,448,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Southern Copper during the second quarter worth about $149,739,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Southern Copper in the fourth quarter worth about $97,645,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on SCCO shares. Citigroup reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen cut Southern Copper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. CICC Research downgraded shares of Southern Copper to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 26th. Scotiabank reaffirmed 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. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $158.10 target price (up from $143.28) on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and seven have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $146.84.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern Copper

In related news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 202 shares of Southern Copper stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.79, for a total value of $39,751.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $339,066.65. The trade was a 10.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 509 shares of company stock worth $97,753. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SCCO opened at $211.58 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $184.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $183.78. 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 cap of $176.53 billion, a PE ratio of 30.93, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.11. Southern Copper Corporation has a 52-week low of $92.94 and a 52-week high of $223.88.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last released 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 firm had revenue of $4.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 was up 40.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Southern Copper Corporation will post 7.61 EPS for the current year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

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

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.