Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. Sells 21,169 Shares of Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Key Points

• Deprince Race & Zollo cut its stake in Southern Copper by 23.7%, selling 21,169 shares in Q4 and now holds 68,307 shares valued at about $9.8 million per its latest 13F filing.
• Company insiders have sold a total of 9,526 shares (~$1.99 million) in the past 90 days, including Director Lerdo De Tejada Leon Contreras who sold 9,326 shares at an average of $209.56 (≈$1.95M), reducing his ownership by 93.91%.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed — the consensus rating is "Reduce" with a $145.19 target — while Southern Copper raised its quarterly dividend to $1.00 (annualized $4.00, ~2.0% yield) and shares recently traded around $196 within a 52-week range of $84.97–$223.88.

Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO - Free Report) by 23.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,307 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 21,169 shares during the quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc.'s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $9,800,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 36.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,437,608 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $781,268,000 after acquiring an additional 1,708,693 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,795,976 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $339,320,000 after acquiring an additional 40,847 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,091,632 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $132,479,000 after acquiring an additional 123,532 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 955,924 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $116,012,000 after acquiring an additional 14,212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 950,018 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $115,294,000 after acquiring an additional 96,013 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 7.94% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Southern Copper news, Director Lerdo De Tejada Leon Contreras sold 9,326 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director directly owned 605 shares of the company's stock, valued at $126,783.04. This represents a 93.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 193 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.60, for a total value of $33,697.80. Following the sale, the director owned 1,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $298,042.20. This represents a 10.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,526 shares of company stock worth $1,989,373. Insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SCCO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southern Copper from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Southern Copper from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $178.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday. Itau BBA Securities lowered shares of Southern Copper from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $124.94 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Scotiabank reiterated an "underperform" rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "sell" rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and seven have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $145.19.

Southern Copper Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SCCO opened at $196.03 on Tuesday. The company's 50-day moving average is $188.04 and its 200 day moving average is $159.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 3.40 and a current ratio of 3.89. The company has a market capitalization of $160.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.16. Southern Copper Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $84.97 and a fifty-two week high of $223.88.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.73 billion. Southern Copper had a net margin of 32.30% and a return on equity of 41.97%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Southern Copper Corporation will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from Southern Copper's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 10th. Southern Copper's payout ratio is currently 75.19%.

About Southern Copper

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.

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