Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Takes $41.18 Million Position in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 430,244 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,179,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned approximately 0.05% of Southern Copper at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SCCO. Fund Advisors of America Inc FL purchased a new stake in Southern Copper in the second quarter valued at about $870,000. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 21.2% during the first quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 192,523 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,126,000 after acquiring an additional 33,638 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG acquired a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the second quarter valued at about $5,266,000. RFG Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,147,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Southern Copper by 16.2% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 74,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,687,000 after purchasing an additional 10,360 shares during the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SCCO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Zacks Research cut shares of Southern Copper from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Southern Copper from $168.97 to $169.96 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southern Copper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Southern Copper from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and seven have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $146.84.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 202 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.79, for a total value of $39,751.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $339,066.65. This represents a 10.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 509 shares of company stock valued at $97,753. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Stock Up 1.4%

NYSE:SCCO opened at $216.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 5.06 and a quick ratio of 4.56. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $184.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $183.72. Southern Copper Corporation has a 1-year low of $92.94 and a 1-year high of $223.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.69, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.11.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last posted 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 net margin of 35.87% and a return on equity of 49.04%. The company had revenue of $4.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.37 billion. Southern Copper’s quarterly revenue was up 40.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Southern Copper Corporation will post 7.61 EPS for the current year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th were paid a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.33%.

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.