Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 174 Shares of Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,867 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $899,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 11.6% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 112,086 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $12,965,000 after buying an additional 11,640 shares during the period. National Pension Service grew its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 15.8% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 26,713 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,090,000 after buying an additional 3,639 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank increased its holdings in Southern Copper by 30.8% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 7,620 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $881,000 after purchasing an additional 1,796 shares in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in Southern Copper in the 3rd quarter valued at $206,000. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 5.0% in the third quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 7,620 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $881,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Copper Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE SCCO opened at $90.80 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $93.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $101.21. 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 company has a market capitalization of $71.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.12. Southern Copper Co. has a one year low of $83.22 and a one year high of $129.79.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by ($0.01). Southern Copper had a return on equity of 40.27% and a net margin of 29.53%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Southern Copper Co. will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. This is a positive change from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SCCO has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Southern Copper from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $92.50 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Southern Copper from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $106.30 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.