Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) Holdings Decreased by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its holdings in shares of Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) by 6.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 165,647 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 11,104 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $12,631,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in Southern Copper by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 17,229 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,040,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in Southern Copper by 0.5% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 31,504 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,402,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Southern Copper by 28.7% during the first quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 699 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in Southern Copper by 4.6% during the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 4,488 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $341,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wetherby Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Southern Copper by 2.4% during the first quarter. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,022 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $688,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Price Performance

NYSE SCCO opened at $78.38 on Thursday. Southern Copper Co. has a twelve month low of $42.42 and a twelve month high of $87.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 3.57 and a current ratio of 4.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.60 billion, a PE ratio of 21.77, a P/E/G ratio of 18.93 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.60.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.05). Southern Copper had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 34.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.37 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Southern Copper Co. will post 3.61 EPS for the current year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 9th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.10%. This is a positive change from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 8th. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is currently 111.11%.

Insider Activity at Southern Copper

In related news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.11, for a total transaction of $43,555.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,414 shares in the company, valued at $471,613.54. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Sanchez Mejorada Enri Castillo sold 2,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total value of $195,744.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $260,992. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.11, for a total transaction of $43,555.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $471,613.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com began coverage on Southern Copper in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Southern Copper from $67.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Southern Copper from $52.50 to $55.50 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.94.

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.