KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Purchases Shares of 35,918 Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 35,918 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,273,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SCCO. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new position in Southern Copper in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew 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 valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc raised 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 worth $43,000 after buying an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 578.3% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 407 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 347 shares during the period. Finally, Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Southern Copper in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Copper Stock Down 3.7 %

Shares of NYSE SCCO opened at $97.69 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a market cap of $77.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.12. Southern Copper Co. has a 12-month low of $84.33 and a 12-month high of $127.34. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $94.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.68.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. This is a positive change from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is 64.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on SCCO shares. UBS Group raised Southern Copper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Southern Copper from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $92.50 target price 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 reduced their price target for the company from $106.30 to $102.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Scotiabank raised 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern Copper presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.42.

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.