Blue Square Asset Management LLC Has $2.67 Million Stake in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO)

Blue Square Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) by 10.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 25,054 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,039 shares during the quarter. Southern Copper makes up approximately 1.8% of Blue Square Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Blue Square Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $2,669,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the first quarter valued at about $213,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Southern Copper during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Mckinley Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Southern Copper by 1.4% during the first quarter. Mckinley Capital Management LLC now owns 23,291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,481,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in Southern Copper by 2.4% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 170,385 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $18,149,000 after purchasing an additional 3,987 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Southern Copper by 54.6% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,541,396 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $164,190,000 after purchasing an additional 544,312 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Southern Copper from $61.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Southern Copper from $63.50 to $61.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. HSBC cut Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. CICC Research started coverage on Southern Copper in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Southern Copper from $81.70 to $100.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.50.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SCCO traded down $1.80 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $114.54. The company had a trading volume of 1,018,785 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,194,266. The company has a current ratio of 3.31, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $89.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.64, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.19. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $114.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.58. Southern Copper Co. has a one year low of $68.93 and a one year high of $129.79.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.17. Southern Copper had a net margin of 24.20% and a return on equity of 30.44%. The business had revenue of $2.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Southern Copper Co. will post 4.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th were given a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.03%. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 1.33%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director PALOMINO BONILLA LUIS MIGUEL sold 3,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.30, for a total value of $425,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,214 shares in the company, valued at $261,916.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $35,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $546,759. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director PALOMINO BONILLA LUIS MIGUEL sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.30, for a total transaction of $425,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $261,916.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,000 shares of company stock worth $472,430 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

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.