Quantbot Technologies LP Reduces Holdings in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO)

Quantbot Technologies LP decreased its stake in shares of Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) by 27.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 85,264 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 32,320 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $7,770,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its position in Southern Copper by 210.7% during the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Southern Copper by 143.4% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 477 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Southern Copper during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Southern Copper by 578.3% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 407 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE SCCO opened at $100.98 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Southern Copper Co. has a 52-week low of $84.33 and a 52-week high of $127.34. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $94.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.57. The stock has a market cap of $80.39 billion, a PE ratio of 23.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.12.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by ($0.01). Southern Copper had a net margin of 29.53% and a return on equity of 40.27%. Equities research analysts forecast that Southern Copper Co. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is an increase from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is 64.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SCCO. Morgan Stanley upgraded Southern Copper from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $106.30 to $102.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group raised Southern Copper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Southern Copper from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $92.50 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Southern Copper from $52.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “sector underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.31.

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.