Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) Shares Sold by RWC Asset Advisors US LLC

RWC Asset Advisors US LLC reduced its stake in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 320,481 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 229 shares during the period. Southern Copper accounts for 5.8% of RWC Asset Advisors US LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. RWC Asset Advisors US LLC’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $29,205,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 172.0% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 223 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its position in Southern Copper by 210.7% during the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the third quarter worth approximately $47,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Southern Copper by 578.3% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 407 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. 7.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded Southern Copper from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $106.30 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Southern Copper from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $92.50 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.81.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

NYSE:SCCO opened at $92.87 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $72.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.50, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.13. Southern Copper Co. has a fifty-two week low of $78.82 and a fifty-two week high of $129.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a current ratio of 2.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $94.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $101.93.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.01). Southern Copper had a return on equity of 40.27% and a net margin of 29.53%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Southern Copper Co. will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 11th. This is an increase from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is 64.81%.

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.