Southern Copper Shares to Split on Tuesday, November 3rd (NYSE:SCCO)

Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO)’s stock is going to split on the morning of Tuesday, November 3rd. The 1.0106-1 split was recently announced. The newly issued shares will be payable to shareholders after the closing bell on Monday, November 2nd.

Southern Copper Stock Down 1.1%

SCCO stock opened at $191.70 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 5.06, a quick ratio of 4.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $201.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $187.47. Southern Copper has a 52 week low of $119.25 and a 52 week high of $223.88. The company has a market cap of $159.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.11.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.12. Southern Copper had a net margin of 37.16% and a return on equity of 53.46%. The company had revenue of $4.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.35 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Southern Copper will post 8.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a positive change from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 3rd. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Barclays set a $165.00 target price on Southern Copper and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday. CICC Research lowered Southern Copper to a “market perform” rating in a report on Sunday, July 26th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Southern Copper from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and seven have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $160.95.

Insider Activity

In other Southern Copper news, Director Luis Palomino Bonilla sold 202 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 603 shares of company stock valued at $120,213 over the last quarter. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management acquired a new position in Southern Copper in the third quarter valued at $232,000. McAlvany Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Southern Copper by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. McAlvany Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,062 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,052,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its stake in Southern Copper by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 417,170 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $84,532,000 after buying an additional 1,078 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Southern Copper in the 3rd quarter worth $2,850,000. Finally, Opinicus Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Southern Copper in the 3rd quarter worth $206,000. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Southern Copper

Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) is a mining and metals company engaged primarily in the exploration, development, extraction, processing and production of copper. The company also produces molybdenum, zinc, silver and lead, along with related byproducts. Its operations include open-pit mines, underground mines, concentrators, smelters, refineries and other processing facilities.

Southern Copper operates mainly in Peru and Mexico. Its Peruvian assets include the Toquepala and Cuajone copper mines, while its Mexican operations include the Buenavista del Cobre and La Caridad mines, as well as associated processing and infrastructure facilities.