Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO Shares Bought by Royal London Asset Management Ltd.

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) by 5.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 146,392 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,572 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $25,510,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in Southern Copper during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new position in Southern Copper during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern Copper

In other news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 202 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $339,066.65. This represents a 10.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 509 shares of company stock valued at $97,753. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Copper Price Performance

SCCO opened at $211.58 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $184.67 and a 200-day moving average of $183.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $176.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.93, a PEG 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. The company has a quick ratio of 4.56, a current ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

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

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The firm 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. 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $168.97 to $169.96 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 upgraded Southern Copper from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $158.10 target price (up from $143.28) on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, CICC Research cut Southern Copper to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and seven have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern Copper currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price 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.