Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) Shares Sold by Deprince Race & Zollo Inc.

Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lowered its position in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO - Free Report) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 102,437 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 14,432 shares during the quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc.'s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $9,335,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Southern Copper by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 108,753 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $9,969,000 after acquiring an additional 14,391 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 137,019 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $12,487,000 after purchasing an additional 24,933 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Southern Copper in the 4th quarter worth about $8,420,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Southern Copper by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 237,437 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $21,638,000 after buying an additional 4,889 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the 4th quarter valued at about $308,000. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SCCO traded up $0.33 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $93.62. 334,407 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,412,984. 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 $74.84 and a 52-week high of $129.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.54 billion, a PE ratio of 21.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.25.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Southern Copper had a net margin of 29.53% and a return on equity of 40.27%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Southern Copper Co. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Copper Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Southern Copper's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on SCCO shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Southern Copper from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $120.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Southern Copper from $84.00 to $83.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Southern Copper from $52.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector underperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Southern Copper from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $91.50.

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.