Marathon Asset Management Ltd Cuts Holdings in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Marathon Asset Management Ltd lowered its position in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 646,882 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 25,201 shares during the quarter. Southern Copper accounts for about 3.6% of Marathon Asset Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Marathon Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $92,808,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its position in Southern Copper by 99.8% during the fourth quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 40,373 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,792,000 after acquiring an additional 20,171 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its position in Southern Copper by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 2,013 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $289,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 23,554 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,385,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 37,163 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,332,000 after purchasing an additional 3,770 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tucker Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the 4th quarter worth about $206,000. Institutional investors own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Trading Down 1.7%

SCCO opened at $169.02 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 4.38 and a quick ratio of 3.89. Southern Copper Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $88.73 and a fifty-two week high of $223.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.45 billion, a PE ratio of 27.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50-day moving average is $178.49 and its 200 day moving average is $168.79.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.96 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Southern Copper Corporation will post 6.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern Copper

In related news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 193 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.60, for a total value of $33,697.80. Following the sale, the director owned 1,707 shares in the company, valued at $298,042.20. This represents a 10.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 300 shares of company stock valued at $52,848. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SCCO. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Friday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Southern Copper from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $178.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective 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. Bank of America cut shares of Southern Copper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $162.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective (up from $133.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and seven have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $144.43.

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.