Royal Fund Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Royal Fund Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) by 49.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,933 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 13,371 shares during the quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $1,999,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SCCO. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Southern Copper during the third quarter worth $25,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Southern Copper by 65.1% in the third quarter. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. now owns 213 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. United Community Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 30.4% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 360 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

SCCO opened at $158.99 on Tuesday. Southern Copper Corporation has a twelve month low of $74.84 and a twelve month high of $223.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $130.23 billion, a PE ratio of 29.88, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 3.89, a quick ratio of 3.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $189.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $154.56.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.73 billion. Southern Copper had a net margin of 32.30% and a return on equity of 41.97%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Southern Copper Corporation will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th were issued a $1.00 dividend. This is a boost from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 10th. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is 75.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 193 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.60, for a total value of $33,697.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,707 shares in the company, valued at $298,042.20. This represents a 10.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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 firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.56, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 93.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,526 shares of company stock worth $1,989,373. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $154.69 price target on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Itau BBA Securities lowered Southern Copper from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $124.94 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $116.51 target price (down from $118.49) on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research lowered Southern Copper from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and eight have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $139.20.

Southern Copper Company 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.