Bollard Group LLC Buys 105,763 Shares of Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Bollard Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) by 14.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 861,950 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 105,763 shares during the period. Southern Copper makes up about 4.4% of Bollard Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Bollard Group LLC owned 0.11% of Southern Copper worth $148,307,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Southern Copper by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,030 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $865,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al boosted its stake in Southern Copper by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 6,072 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $871,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Southern Copper by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,910 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its position in Southern Copper by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 6,379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $915,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venture Visionary Partners LLC raised its stake in Southern Copper by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 6,998 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,004,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. 7.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Copper Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of Southern Copper stock opened at $179.69 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.38, a quick ratio of 3.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $180.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $183.39. Southern Copper Corporation has a 1 year low of $88.73 and a 1 year high of $223.88. The company has a market cap of $148.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.27, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 50.74% and a net margin of 35.87%.The firm had revenue of $4.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.37 billion. Southern Copper’s quarterly revenue was up 40.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Southern Copper Corporation will post 7.68 EPS for the current year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. This is a boost from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.33%.

Insider Activity at Southern Copper

In other news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.82, for a total value of $35,564.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $321,320.74. The trade was a 9.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 404 shares of company stock valued at $74,108. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Southern Copper from $127.00 to $131.50 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Zacks Research upgraded Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $140.00 target price (up from $135.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Barclays set a $166.00 target price on Southern Copper and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup restated a “positive” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and seven have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $148.60.

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.