Advocate Group LLC Sells 2,354 Shares of Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO)

Advocate Group LLC cut its holdings in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,920 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,354 shares during the quarter. Advocate Group LLC’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $2,919,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Occidental Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Southern Copper by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 29,600 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,548,000 after acquiring an additional 1,507 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Southern Copper during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in Southern Copper during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $88,000. Viking Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern Copper during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, HMS Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern Copper during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $214,000. 7.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Southern Copper from $61.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $91.00 to $130.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. StockNews.com cut Southern Copper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Southern Copper from $63.50 to $61.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.83.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SCCO traded up $2.20 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $106.52. 1,130,038 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,442,260. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $86.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $80.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.92 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 2.46 and a current ratio of 3.19. Southern Copper Co. has a one year low of $64.66 and a one year high of $107.13.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.15). Southern Copper had a net margin of 24.51% and a return on equity of 30.85%. The firm had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.37 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Southern Copper Co. will post 3.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 13th were issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 12th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.91%.

Southern Copper Company Profile

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.