28,975 Shares in Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO Purchased by Empirical Asset Management LLC

Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 28,975 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,516,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Southern Copper during the third quarter worth $2,976,000. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Southern Copper by 4.3% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 941,712 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $95,273,000 after acquiring an additional 38,856 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 5.7% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 148,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $17,778,000 after acquiring an additional 7,995 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 2,631.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 13,441 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,631,000 after acquiring an additional 12,949 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 54.2% during the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 35,647 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,326,000 after purchasing an additional 12,532 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SCCO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Monday, January 12th. UBS Group reissued a “sell” rating and set a $148.74 price target (up from $146.75) on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $154.69 target price on shares of Southern Copper in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and seven have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern Copper has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $136.49.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

Shares of SCCO stock opened at $210.87 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $171.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.64, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 4.52, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $176.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $140.10. Southern Copper Corporation has a 12 month low of $74.84 and a 12 month high of $218.81.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 is an increase from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 10th. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is presently 75.19%.

Insider Activity at Southern Copper

In other news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.83, for a total value of $55,544.87. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $175,731.28. This represents a 24.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Lerdo De Tejada Leon Contreras sold 9,326 shares of Southern Copper stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.56, for a total transaction of $1,954,344.91. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $126,783.04. This represents a 93.91% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Profile

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.