Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Raises Stock Position in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its stake in Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) by 378.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,769 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 14,054 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $2,156,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SCCO. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Southern Copper during the third quarter worth about $230,000. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the 3rd quarter valued at about $8,452,000. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC grew its stake in Southern Copper by 59.5% during the 3rd quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC now owns 15,205 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,845,000 after buying an additional 5,670 shares during the last quarter. Pring Turner Capital Group Inc. acquired a new position in Southern Copper during the third quarter worth approximately $3,095,000. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Southern Copper by 7.0% in the third quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 16,435 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,995,000 after buying an additional 1,073 shares during the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SCCO. Scotiabank restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $154.69 price objective on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Monday, January 12th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Southern Copper from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and seven have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern Copper presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $136.49.

Southern Copper Trading Up 3.6%

Shares of Southern Copper stock opened at $200.99 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.91, a current ratio of 4.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $163.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.07. Southern Copper Corporation has a 52-week low of $74.84 and a 52-week high of $218.81. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $173.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $138.23.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 10th. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern Copper news, Director Lerdo De Tejada Leon Contreras sold 9,326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.56, for a total value of $1,954,344.91. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $126,783.04. This trade represents a 93.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.83, for a total transaction of $55,544.87. Following the sale, the director owned 1,275 shares in the company, valued at $175,731.28. The trade was a 24.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

About Southern Copper

Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE: SCCO) is a large, integrated copper producer whose operations span the full value chain from exploration and mining to smelting, refining and the sale of copper and other metal products. The company produces a range of copper products including copper concentrate and refined cathodes, and recovers valuable byproducts such as molybdenum, silver and zinc. Southern Copper concentrates on high-volume, long-life assets designed to support steady production and processing capabilities.

Southern Copper’s operations are concentrated in Peru and Mexico, where it owns and operates multiple large-scale mining and processing facilities.