Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO Shares Sold by Manning & Napier Advisors LLC

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 79,172 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 7,831 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $11,518,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. United Community Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in Southern Copper in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern Copper in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Southern Copper in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Southern Copper

In related news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 193 shares of the 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 transaction, the director owned 1,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $298,042.20. This represents a 10.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SCCO. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $133.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $117.50 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group lowered 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. Wells Fargo & Company set a $171.00 price objective on shares of Southern Copper and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Southern Copper from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Two equities research 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 MarketBeat, Southern Copper presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $144.25.

Southern Copper Trading Up 3.3%

NYSE SCCO opened at $185.51 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 4.38 and a quick ratio of 3.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $151.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.66, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $182.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $165.92. Southern Copper Corporation has a 12 month low of $88.13 and a 12 month high of $223.88.

Southern Copper shares are set to split on the morning of Wednesday, May 13th. The 1.01-1 split was recently announced. The newly created shares will be payable to shareholders after the market closes on Tuesday, May 12th.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.04. Southern Copper had a net margin of 34.13% and a return on equity of 45.63%. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.96 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern Copper Corporation will post 6.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Copper Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is 66.12%.

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.