Van ECK Associates Corp Trims Holdings in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO)

Van ECK Associates Corp reduced its holdings in shares of Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO - Free Report) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 289,396 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 6,745 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in Southern Copper were worth $26,372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SCCO. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 172.0% in the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 223 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in 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 period. Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Southern Copper in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Southern Copper in the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 578.3% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 407 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the period. 7.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on SCCO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Southern Copper from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $92.50 price target for the company in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Southern Copper from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $106.30 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $94.81.

Southern Copper Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE SCCO traded down $0.50 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $96.78. The company had a trading volume of 562,641 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,177,331. The company's fifty day moving average is $95.08 and its 200-day moving average is $101.99. Southern Copper Co. has a one year low of $78.82 and a one year high of $129.79. The company has a current ratio of 2.77, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a market cap of $76.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.13.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by ($0.01). Southern Copper had a return on equity of 37.11% and a net margin of 27.67%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Southern Copper Co. will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 11th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. This is a positive change from Southern Copper's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Southern Copper's dividend payout ratio is currently 72.09%.

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.