Quantbot Technologies LP Lowers Stake in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO)

Quantbot Technologies LP lowered its stake in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) by 27.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 85,264 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 32,320 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $7,770,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Southern Copper by 33.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,693 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,121,000 after acquiring an additional 2,442 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the third quarter worth about $456,000. Quest Partners LLC grew its position in Southern Copper by 51.8% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 6,228 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $720,000 after acquiring an additional 2,126 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Southern Copper by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 12,523 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,448,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the third quarter worth about $217,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Price Performance

SCCO stock opened at $100.98 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $94.27 and a 200 day moving average of $100.57. The company has a market cap of $80.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.37, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 2.77 and a quick ratio of 2.31. Southern Copper Co. has a 1 year low of $84.33 and a 1 year high of $127.34.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.01). Southern Copper had a net margin of 29.53% and a return on equity of 40.27%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Southern Copper Co. will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 11th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. This is a boost from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SCCO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $52.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “sector underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Southern Copper from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $92.50 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group upgraded shares of Southern Copper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Southern Copper from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $106.30 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.31.

Southern Copper Company 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.