Confluence Investment Management LLC Invests $782,000 in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO)

Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 7,342 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $782,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SCCO. Fortis Group Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 302 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern Copper during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Southern Copper by 164.8% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 482 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern Copper in the 4th quarter valued at about $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $91.00 to $130.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Southern Copper from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Southern Copper from $61.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. CICC Research initiated coverage on Southern Copper in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.33.

Insider Activity

In other Southern Copper news, Director PALOMINO BONILLA LUIS MIGUEL sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.30, for a total transaction of $425,880.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $261,916.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $35,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,614 shares in the company, valued at $546,759. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director PALOMINO BONILLA LUIS MIGUEL sold 3,600 shares of Southern Copper stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.30, for a total value of $425,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $261,916.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,100 shares of company stock worth $483,450. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

NYSE:SCCO traded up $2.55 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $107.81. 414,713 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,216,445. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a current ratio of 3.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $115.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.80. Southern Copper Co. has a fifty-two week low of $67.64 and a fifty-two week high of $129.79.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.17. Southern Copper had a net margin of 24.20% and a return on equity of 30.44%. The business had revenue of $2.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Southern Copper Co. will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.04%. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is presently 1.33%.

Southern Copper Profile

Southern Copper Corporation engages in mining, exploring, smelting, and refining copper and other minerals in Peru, Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador, and Chile. The company is involved in the mining, milling, and flotation of copper ore to produce copper and molybdenum concentrates; smelting of copper concentrates to produce blister and anode copper; refining of anode copper to produce copper cathodes; production of molybdenum concentrate and sulfuric acid; production of refined silver, gold, and other materials; and mining and processing of zinc, copper, molybdenum, silver, gold, and lead.