Lbp Am Sa Trims Position in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Key Points

• Lbp Am Sa trimmed its stake in Southern Copper by 17.4% in Q4, selling 6,592 shares and ending the period with 31,303 shares worth about $4.49 million.
• Southern Copper beat quarterly estimates (EPS $1.55 vs. $1.54; revenue $3.87B vs. $3.73B) and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.00 (annualized $4.00, ~2.1% yield).
• Analysts are generally cautious—MarketBeat shows an average rating of "Reduce" with an average target of $144.79 while the stock trades near $194, and insiders sold roughly 9,526 shares (~$2.0M) recently.

Lbp Am Sa lessened its stake in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO - Free Report) by 17.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,303 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 6,592 shares during the quarter. Lbp Am Sa's holdings in Southern Copper were worth $4,491,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Southern Copper during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. grew its holdings in Southern Copper by 65.1% during the 3rd quarter. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. now owns 213 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. United Community Bank purchased a new position in Southern Copper during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in Southern Copper during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Southern Copper by 30.4% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 360 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.94% of the company's stock.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

NYSE:SCCO opened at $194.44 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $187.46 and a 200 day moving average of $161.10. The company has a market capitalization of $159.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.55, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.16. Southern Copper Corporation has a 1-year low of $84.97 and a 1-year high of $223.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 3.89 and a quick ratio of 3.40.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO - Get Free Report) last released its 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. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 41.97% and a net margin of 32.30%.The company had revenue of $3.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Southern Copper Corporation will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 10th. This is a positive change from Southern Copper's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Southern Copper's payout ratio is currently 75.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern Copper

In related news, Director Lerdo De Tejada Leon Contreras sold 9,326 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.56, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 193 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.60, for a total value of $33,697.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $298,042.20. The trade was 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 sold 9,526 shares of company stock worth $1,989,373. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on SCCO shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Southern Copper from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Southern Copper from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $186.00 price target on Southern Copper and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "sell" rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and seven have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern Copper currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $144.79.

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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