Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO Shares Bought by Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) by 47.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 88,648 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,674 shares during the quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $12,718,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Spire Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 7,891.3% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 45,950 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,592,000 after buying an additional 45,375 shares in the last quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the 4th quarter worth $169,000. Weil Company Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the 4th quarter worth $230,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern Copper in the 4th quarter worth $359,000. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the fourth quarter worth $378,000. 7.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on SCCO shares. Bank of America lowered Southern Copper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $162.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Southern Copper from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $116.51 target price (down from $118.49) on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and eight have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $139.20.

Insider Activity at Southern Copper

In related news, Director Lerdo De Tejada Leon Contreras sold 9,326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.56, for a total transaction of $1,954,344.91. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $126,783.04. The trade was a 93.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 193 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.60, for a total transaction of $33,697.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $298,042.20. The trade was a 10.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,526 shares of company stock valued at $1,989,373. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

Shares of SCCO stock opened at $161.91 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $132.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.03. Southern Copper Corporation has a 1-year low of $74.84 and a 1-year high of $223.88. The company has a current ratio of 3.89, a quick ratio of 3.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $189.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $154.17.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.01. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 41.97% and a net margin of 32.30%.The firm had revenue of $3.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Southern Copper Corporation will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is an increase from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 10th. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is 75.19%.

Southern Copper Company 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.