Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Increases Position in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its position in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) by 12.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 43,505 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,811 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $3,965,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 141 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 169.2% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 288 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the third quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Southern Copper by 578.3% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 407 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Copper Price Performance

SCCO opened at $96.52 on Monday. Southern Copper Co. has a twelve month low of $77.42 and a twelve month high of $129.79. The firm has a market cap of $75.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.85, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.14. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $97.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $103.54.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. This is a positive change from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is presently 72.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SCCO. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $99.44 to $100.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised Southern Copper from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $106.30 to $102.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Southern Copper from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $92.50 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Southern Copper from $54.00 to $52.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Four 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern Copper currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.