Merit Financial Group LLC Reduces Stock Position in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Merit Financial Group LLC lowered its stake in Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) by 35.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 10,545 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 5,890 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $1,513,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SCCO. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Southern Copper by 42.1% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 44,879 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,194,000 after acquiring an additional 13,293 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Southern Copper by 17.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,705 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $627,000 after acquiring an additional 1,020 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in Southern Copper by 21.5% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,944 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $556,000 after acquiring an additional 1,052 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Southern Copper by 37.4% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 73,379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,424,000 after acquiring an additional 19,957 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Southern Copper by 17.7% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,864 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $492,000 after acquiring an additional 731 shares during the period. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SCCO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Scotiabank reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $117.50 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and seven have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern Copper presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $144.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern Copper

In other news, Director Lerdo De Tejada Leon Contreras sold 9,326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.56, for a total transaction of $1,954,344.91. Following the sale, the director directly owned 605 shares in the company, valued at $126,783.04. This trade represents a 93.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 193 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.60, for a total transaction of $33,697.80. Following the sale, the director owned 1,707 shares in the company, valued at $298,042.20. The trade was a 10.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 9,526 shares of company stock worth $1,989,373 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of SCCO stock opened at $187.97 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $153.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.33, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.16. Southern Copper Corporation has a one year low of $86.59 and a one year high of $223.88. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $186.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $162.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 3.89 and a quick ratio of 3.40.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.87 billion for 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 period last year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Southern Copper Corporation will post 6.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Southern Copper

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.