Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) Shares Sold by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio reduced its position in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO - Free Report) by 35.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,397 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 23,471 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Southern Copper were worth $3,955,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the 4th quarter worth approximately $308,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 49.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,295 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $665,000 after purchasing an additional 2,416 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the fourth quarter worth about $93,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 24,933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Advocates LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC now owns 4,725 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 985 shares during the period. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

Southern Copper stock traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $92.46. 1,219,163 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,192,286. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a current ratio of 2.77. Southern Copper Co. has a fifty-two week low of $74.11 and a fifty-two week high of $118.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.62 billion, a PE ratio of 21.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.01.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.14. Southern Copper had a net margin of 29.53% and a return on equity of 40.27%. The business had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Southern Copper Co. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Copper Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a dividend yield of 2.98%. Southern Copper's payout ratio is 61.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SCCO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Southern Copper from $84.00 to $83.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $52.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Southern Copper from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern Copper from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Southern Copper from $120.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.