Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO Shares Sold by Aberdeen Group plc

Aberdeen Group plc trimmed its holdings in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) by 43.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 200,283 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 151,269 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $28,735,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Southern Copper during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Southern Copper by 65.1% in the third quarter. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. now owns 213 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. United Community Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 30.4% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 360 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern Copper

In other news, Director Lerdo De Tejada Leon Contreras sold 9,326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owned 605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $126,783.04. This trade represents a 93.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 193 shares of Southern Copper stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.60, for a total transaction of $33,697.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,526 shares of company stock worth $1,989,373. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Southern Copper Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE SCCO opened at $177.99 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 3.89, a quick ratio of 3.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Southern Copper Corporation has a 1-year low of $74.84 and a 1-year high of $223.88. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $188.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.52. The company has a market capitalization of $145.79 billion, a PE ratio of 33.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.16.

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

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a positive change from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SCCO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Southern Copper from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Bank of America downgraded Southern Copper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $162.00 to $175.00 in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Zacks Research lowered Southern Copper from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and eight have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern Copper has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $139.20.

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.