Blue Square Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO)

Blue Square Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) by 10.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,054 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,039 shares during the period. Southern Copper comprises about 1.8% of Blue Square Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Blue Square Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $2,669,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the 4th quarter worth about $71,802,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 54.6% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,541,396 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $164,190,000 after acquiring an additional 544,312 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 8,523.8% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 172,907 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $14,882,000 after acquiring an additional 170,902 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 378.9% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 166,398 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $14,322,000 after acquiring an additional 131,651 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 17.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 687,501 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $51,854,000 after acquiring an additional 102,286 shares during the period. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on SCCO shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $91.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. HSBC downgraded 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. 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, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Southern Copper from $61.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.50.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

SCCO traded down $1.80 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $114.54. 1,018,785 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,194,266. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $114.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.58. Southern Copper Co. has a 12 month low of $68.93 and a 12 month high of $129.79. The stock has a market cap of $89.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 3.31 and a quick ratio of 2.56.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.17. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 30.44% and a net margin of 24.20%. The firm had revenue of $2.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. Analysts anticipate that Southern Copper Co. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Copper Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.03%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 7th. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 1.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern Copper

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 value of $425,880.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,214 shares in the company, valued at $261,916.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other 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 directly owns 2,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $261,916.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $35,550.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,614 shares in the company, valued at $546,759. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,000 shares of company stock worth $472,430. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Southern Copper

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.