Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Raises Position in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) by 105.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 198,590 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 101,979 shares during the period. Southern Copper accounts for about 1.3% of Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $34,606,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new stake in Southern Copper during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 233.3% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on SCCO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Southern Copper from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $178.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Citigroup restated a “positive” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Southern Copper from $146.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Southern Copper from $127.00 to $131.50 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Southern Copper from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and seven have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern Copper currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $148.60.

Southern Copper Trading Up 3.3%

Shares of Southern Copper stock opened at $199.38 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $181.84 and a 200 day moving average of $184.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 3.89 and a current ratio of 5.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.15, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.11. Southern Copper Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $92.57 and a fifty-two week high of $223.88.

Shares of Southern Copper are set to split on Tuesday, August 11th. The 1.012-1 split was recently announced. The newly issued shares will be distributed to shareholders after the market closes on Monday, August 10th.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $4.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.37 billion. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 49.04% and a net margin of 35.87%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Southern Copper Corporation will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be given a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. This is an increase from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.15, for a total transaction of $39,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $339,152.45. This trade represents a 10.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 804 shares of company stock valued at $151,338 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

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.