By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered its stake in shares of Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO – Free Report) by 12.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,228,943 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 174,040 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.16% of Southern Copper worth $111,994,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its stake in Southern Copper by 210.7% in the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 143.4% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 477 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Copper during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Southern Copper by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 521 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Southern Copper Trading Up 0.6 %
NYSE SCCO opened at $94.41 on Thursday. Southern Copper Co. has a 12 month low of $84.33 and a 12 month high of $127.34. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $94.18 and a 200-day moving average of $100.61. The company has a market cap of $75.17 billion, a PE ratio of 21.85, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.12.
Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by ($0.01). Southern Copper had a net margin of 29.53% and a return on equity of 40.27%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Southern Copper Co. will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Southern Copper Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. This is a boost from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.81%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Southern Copper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Southern Copper from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $106.30 to $102.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on Southern Copper from $52.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “sector underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.42.
View Our Latest Analysis on SCCO
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.
Further Reading
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