Novem Group Reduces Stake in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Novem Group decreased its stake in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) by 24.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,074 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,655 shares during the period. Novem Group’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $1,158,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Southern Copper during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,976,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Southern Copper by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 148,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,778,000 after purchasing an additional 7,995 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Southern Copper by 2,631.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 13,441 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,631,000 after purchasing an additional 12,949 shares in the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 54.2% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 35,647 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,326,000 after acquiring an additional 12,532 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 159.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,308 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,251,000 after acquiring an additional 6,341 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SCCO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Itau BBA Securities cut Southern Copper from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $124.94 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, December 22nd. UBS Group lowered their price target on Southern Copper from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $186.00 price target on Southern Copper and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and seven have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern Copper has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $144.79.

Insider Activity at Southern Copper

In related news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 193 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.60, for a total transaction of $33,697.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,707 shares in the company, valued at $298,042.20. This trade represents a 10.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal 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 that occurred 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 transaction, the director owned 605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $126,783.04. The trade was a 93.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,526 shares of company stock worth $1,989,373. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Copper Price Performance

SCCO opened at $191.00 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $187.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $162.13. 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 Corporation has a 1 year low of $84.97 and a 1 year high of $223.88. The firm has a market cap of $156.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.90, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.16.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.01. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 41.97% and a net margin of 32.30%.The business had revenue of $3.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.73 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Southern Copper Corporation will post 6.79 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 10th. This is a positive change from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is 75.19%.

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.