Chase Investment Counsel Corp Acquires New Holdings in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Chase Investment Counsel Corp bought a new position in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,696 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $569,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 10.8% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,719,883 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $174,002,000 after acquiring an additional 168,005 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Southern Copper by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 979,877 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $99,134,000 after purchasing an additional 75,653 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Southern Copper by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 950,018 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $115,294,000 after purchasing an additional 96,013 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Southern Copper by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 941,712 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $95,273,000 after buying an additional 38,856 shares during the period. Finally, Bollard Group LLC grew its position in shares of Southern Copper by 14.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bollard Group LLC now owns 834,344 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $84,411,000 after buying an additional 103,014 shares during the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern Copper

In related news, Director Lerdo De Tejada Leon Contreras sold 9,326 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.56, for a total value of $1,954,344.91. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $126,783.04. This represents a 93.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.83, for a total value of $55,544.87. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $175,731.28. This trade represents a 24.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Trading Up 3.1%

SCCO opened at $207.21 on Tuesday. Southern Copper Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $74.84 and a fifty-two week high of $218.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $168.30 billion, a PE ratio of 38.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 4.52 and a quick ratio of 3.91. The company’s 50-day moving average is $175.04 and its 200 day moving average is $139.32.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 10th. This is a positive change from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is presently 75.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SCCO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $154.69 price objective on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Itau BBA Securities lowered shares of Southern Copper from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $124.94 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Zacks Research cut Southern Copper from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and seven have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $136.49.

Southern Copper Profile

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.