Occidental Asset Management LLC Boosts Stake in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO)

Occidental Asset Management LLC increased its position in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,404 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,665 shares during the period. Occidental Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $1,966,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SCCO. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Southern Copper by 17.5% during the 2nd quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 981 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 47.3% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 117,406 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,423,000 after buying an additional 37,704 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 40.4% during the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 48,412 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,429,000 after buying an additional 13,924 shares in the last quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the 1st quarter worth approximately $296,000. Finally, Macquarie Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 94.6% during the 1st quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 67,091 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,115,000 after buying an additional 32,618 shares in the last quarter. 7.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Southern Copper from $52.50 to $55.50 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Southern Copper in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Southern Copper in a report on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $91.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Southern Copper from $67.00 to $74.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sanchez Mejorada Enri Castillo sold 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total value of $195,744.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $260,992. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.11, for a total value of $43,555.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $471,613.54. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Sanchez Mejorada Enri Castillo sold 2,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total value of $195,744.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $260,992. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Southern Copper stock traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $79.85. 183,862 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,206,248. Southern Copper Co. has a 52-week low of $42.42 and a 52-week high of $87.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 19.34 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a fifty day moving average of $80.15 and a 200-day moving average of $75.69. The company has a current ratio of 4.50, a quick ratio of 3.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.37 billion. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 34.86% and a net margin of 27.62%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Southern Copper Co. will post 3.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 9th were given a $1.00 dividend. This is a positive change from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.01%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 8th. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 111.11%.

Southern Copper Profile

Southern Copper Corporation engages in mining, exploring, smelting, and refining copper and other minerals in Peru, Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador, and Chile. The company is involved in the mining, milling, and flotation of copper ore to produce copper and molybdenum concentrates; smelting of copper concentrates to produce blister and anode copper; refining of anode copper to produce copper cathodes; production of molybdenum concentrate and sulfuric acid; production of refined silver, gold, and other materials; and mining and processing of zinc, copper, molybdenum, silver, gold, and lead.