Vega Investment Solutions Invests $1.22 Million in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Vega Investment Solutions bought a new stake in Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 7,010 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,222,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 worth $865,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al increased its stake in Southern Copper by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 6,072 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $871,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,910 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $417,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 6,379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $915,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venture Visionary Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 6,998 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,004,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SCCO. Weiss Ratings raised Southern Copper from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern Copper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. CICC Research cut Southern Copper to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 26th. 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Southern Copper from $168.97 to $169.96 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and seven have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern Copper presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $146.84.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 202 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.79, for a total transaction of $39,751.28. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders have sold 509 shares of company stock worth $97,753. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Southern Copper Price Performance

Southern Copper stock opened at $214.14 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $178.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.11. Southern Copper Corporation has a one year low of $92.94 and a one year high of $223.88. The business has a fifty day moving average of $182.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $183.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 4.56 and a current ratio of 5.06.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $4.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.37 billion. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 40.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Southern Copper Corporation will post 7.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. This is a positive change from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is 64.33%.

Southern Copper 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.