Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Acquires 4,021 Shares of Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its holdings in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) by 14.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 32,178 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,021 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $2,770,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Viking Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern Copper in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 164.8% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 482 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Southern Copper in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new position in Southern Copper in the 4th quarter worth $88,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Southern Copper by 277.7% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,065 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 783 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

Shares of SCCO stock traded down $2.97 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $115.07. The stock had a trading volume of 1,000,597 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,184,883. Southern Copper Co. has a one year low of $64.66 and a one year high of $121.00. The firm has a market cap of $88.96 billion, a PE ratio of 37.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $104.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.89. The company has a quick ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 3.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.15). Southern Copper had a net margin of 24.20% and a return on equity of 30.44%. The firm had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.37 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Southern Copper Co. will post 4.01 EPS for the current year.

Southern Copper Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be paid a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.03%. Southern Copper’s payout ratio is currently 105.26%.

Insider Activity at Southern Copper

In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 300 shares of Southern Copper stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $35,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $546,759. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 600 shares of company stock worth $63,430 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank raised their price target on Southern Copper from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “sector underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Southern Copper from $61.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. CICC Research initiated coverage on Southern Copper in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Southern Copper from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $91.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.50.

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.