Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) Stock Position Lowered by Nisa Investment Advisors LLC

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC reduced its position in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO - Free Report) by 39.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,933 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 25,169 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Southern Copper were worth $3,265,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Southern Copper by 7.0% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 80,682 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $6,075,000 after buying an additional 5,296 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 119.8% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 41,223 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,548,000 after acquiring an additional 22,471 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 17.5% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 687,501 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $51,854,000 after acquiring an additional 102,286 shares during the last quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 22.1% during the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 89,468 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $6,736,000 after acquiring an additional 16,168 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.94% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on SCCO shares. StockNews.com lowered Southern Copper from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Southern Copper from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $91.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Southern Copper from $63.50 to $61.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Southern Copper from $61.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $76.83.

Southern Copper Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE:SCCO traded down $1.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $115.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,407,730 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,320,570. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $93.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 3.19 and a quick ratio of 2.46. Southern Copper Co. has a twelve month low of $64.66 and a twelve month high of $120.37. The stock has a market cap of $89.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.29.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.37 billion. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 30.85% and a net margin of 24.51%. On average, equities analysts predict that Southern Copper Co. will post 3.89 EPS for the current year.

Southern Copper Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 13th were issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 12th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. Southern Copper's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.91%.

Southern Copper 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.