Savant Capital LLC Invests $226,000 in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO)

Savant Capital LLC bought a new position in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,475 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its position in Southern Copper by 172.0% in the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 223 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Southern Copper in the third quarter worth about $42,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Southern Copper in the third quarter worth about $47,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Southern Copper by 578.3% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 407 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in Southern Copper in the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE SCCO opened at $97.31 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a current ratio of 2.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.05, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $95.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.99. Southern Copper Co. has a 52-week low of $78.82 and a 52-week high of $129.79.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last announced its quarterly 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 27.67% and a return on equity of 37.11%. Sell-side analysts expect that Southern Copper Co. will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This is a positive change from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 11th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is presently 72.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on SCCO. Morgan Stanley upgraded Southern Copper from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $106.30 to $102.00 in a research report 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 for the company in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.81.

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.