Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO Shares Sold by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC lessened its stake in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) by 43.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,035 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,065 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $694,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SCCO. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Southern Copper by 42.1% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 44,879 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,194,000 after purchasing an additional 13,293 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Southern Copper by 17.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,705 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $627,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in Southern Copper by 21.5% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,944 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $556,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 37.4% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 73,379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,424,000 after buying an additional 19,957 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 17.7% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,864 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $492,000 after buying an additional 731 shares during the period. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Southern Copper

In other news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 202 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.79, for a total transaction of $39,751.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $339,066.65. The trade was a 10.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 711 shares of company stock worth $133,247 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Stock Down 0.1%

Southern Copper stock opened at $184.42 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $153.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 5.06, a quick ratio of 4.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Southern Copper Corporation has a twelve month low of $92.57 and a twelve month high of $223.88. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $179.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $182.97.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last released its 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 return on equity of 49.04% and a net margin of 35.87%.The firm had revenue of $4.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.37 billion. Southern Copper’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Southern Copper Corporation will post 7.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be paid a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. This is a boost from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SCCO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Southern Copper from $144.27 to $156.13 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. UBS Group restated 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Southern Copper from $168.97 to $169.96 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southern Copper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Southern Copper from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and seven have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern Copper currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus 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.