Public Sector Pension Investment Board Reduces Stock Position in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Public Sector Pension Investment Board reduced its holdings in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) by 28.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 93,020 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 36,867 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $11,289,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SCCO. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Southern Copper during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 65.1% during the third quarter. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. now owns 213 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Tobam bought a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the second quarter worth about $29,000. United Community Bank acquired a new position in Southern Copper in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Southern Copper in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern Copper

In related news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 403 shares of Southern Copper stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.83, for a total transaction of $55,544.87. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,275 shares in the company, valued at $175,731.28. The trade was a 24.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Lerdo De Tejada Leon Contreras sold 9,326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.56, for a total transaction of $1,954,344.91. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $126,783.04. The trade was a 93.91% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Southern Copper Stock Up 0.1%

SCCO stock opened at $198.03 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $160.84 billion, a PE ratio of 37.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.06. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $168.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.95. Southern Copper Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $74.84 and a fifty-two week high of $218.81. The company has a quick ratio of 3.91, a current ratio of 4.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. This is an increase from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is 75.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on SCCO shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern Copper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Itau BBA Securities cut Southern Copper from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $124.94 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $190.38 target price on shares of Southern Copper and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group reissued a “sell” rating and set a $148.74 target price (up from $146.75) on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $127.91 price target on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and seven have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $136.49.

Southern Copper Profile

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.