Merit Financial Group LLC Purchases New Position in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO)

Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 12,141 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,106,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of Southern Copper by 172.0% during the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 223 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 169.2% in the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 288 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Southern Copper in the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern Copper in the third quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 578.3% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 407 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Copper Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE SCCO traded down $2.25 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $96.43. The company had a trading volume of 1,526,937 shares, compared to its average volume of 954,687. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a current ratio of 2.77. The company has a market capitalization of $75.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.83, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $97.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $103.85. Southern Copper Co. has a 12-month low of $77.42 and a 12-month high of $129.79.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Southern Copper had a net margin of 27.67% and a return on equity of 37.11%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Southern Copper Co. will post 4.4 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on SCCO shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded Southern Copper from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $106.30 to $102.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Southern Copper from $54.00 to $52.00 and set a "sector underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Southern Copper from $99.44 to $100.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Southern Copper from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $92.50 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $94.81.

Southern Copper 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.