Virtu Financial LLC Purchases New Holdings in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO)

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 5,199 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $554,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCCO. Fortis Group Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Southern Copper by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 302 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Southern Copper in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Southern Copper in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Southern Copper by 164.8% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 482 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern Copper in the 4th quarter valued at about $61,000. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Copper Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of SCCO traded down $2.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $99.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,028,965 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,198,788. The company’s 50-day moving average is $110.44 and its 200-day moving average is $102.89. Southern Copper Co. has a 52-week low of $68.93 and a 52-week high of $129.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.70, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 3.31, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Southern Copper Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 26th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on SCCO. HSBC cut shares of Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. CICC Research began coverage on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Friday, July 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Southern Copper from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern Copper presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.57.

Southern Copper Company 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.