Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lowered its holdings in shares of Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) by 18.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 82,949 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 18,614 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $7,559,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 578.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the 3rd quarter worth $47,000. Planning Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the 3rd quarter worth $52,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Institutional investors own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

Shares of SCCO stock opened at $92.87 on Friday. Southern Copper Co. has a 1-year low of $78.82 and a 1-year high of $129.79. 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 market capitalization of $72.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $94.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.89.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 29.53% and a return on equity of 40.27%. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 11th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. This is an increase from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is 64.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on SCCO shares. Morgan Stanley raised 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 research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern Copper presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.81.

Southern Copper Company 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.