Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Position in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 76,215 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $7,013,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Southern Copper by 30.9% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,516 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,563,000 after acquiring an additional 3,193 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Southern Copper by 48.7% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 8,687 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,005,000 after purchasing an additional 2,845 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in Southern Copper by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 6,734 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $779,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in Southern Copper in the third quarter valued at about $924,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in Southern Copper by 0.6% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 57,376 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,637,000 after buying an additional 319 shares during the period. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

Shares of SCCO stock opened at $93.37 on Tuesday. Southern Copper Co. has a 52 week low of $84.33 and a 52 week high of $127.34. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $94.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $100.69. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $74.34 billion, a PE ratio of 21.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.12.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported $1.01 earnings per share (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%. On average, research analysts predict that Southern Copper Co. will post 4.66 EPS 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 dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. This is a positive change from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SCCO shares. UBS Group raised shares of Southern Copper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Southern Copper from $52.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Southern Copper from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $92.50 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Southern Copper from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $106.30 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern Copper currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.42.

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.