Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Lowers Stake in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank cut its holdings in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 54,070 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,306 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $4,927,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 210.7% in the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Southern Copper by 578.3% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Southern Copper during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Planning Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 143.4% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 477 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Southern Copper from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $92.50 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Southern Copper from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $106.30 to $102.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Southern Copper from $52.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “sector underperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Southern Copper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.31.

Southern Copper Stock Up 4.0 %

SCCO stock opened at $96.13 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 2.77 and a quick ratio of 2.31. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $93.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.67. Southern Copper Co. has a 12 month low of $84.33 and a 12 month high of $129.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.51 billion, a PE ratio of 22.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.12.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last announced its earnings results 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%. 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 was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 11th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This is an increase from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is presently 64.81%.

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.