Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) by 13.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 468,908 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 70,587 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned 0.06% of Southern Copper worth $42,732,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of Southern Copper by 172.0% in the 3rd 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. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its stake in Southern Copper by 210.7% during the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake 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. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern Copper in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Southern Copper by 578.3% in the third 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 in the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Copper Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of SCCO stock opened at $93.16 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $94.46 and its 200-day moving average is $101.83. Southern Copper Co. has a 1 year low of $78.82 and a 1 year high of $129.79. The stock has a market cap of $73.18 billion, a PE ratio of 21.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a current ratio of 2.77.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by ($0.01). Southern Copper had a return on equity of 40.27% and a net margin of 29.53%. Equities analysts expect that Southern Copper Co. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. This is an increase from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 11th. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.