CFC Planning Co LLC Takes Position in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO)

CFC Planning Co LLC acquired a new stake in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 25,969 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,367,000. Southern Copper comprises about 2.5% of CFC Planning Co LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCCO. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Southern Copper by 53.0% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 517 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 49,328 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,706,000 after acquiring an additional 2,092 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Southern Copper by 215.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 17,506 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,025,000 after purchasing an additional 11,958 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC increased its holdings in Southern Copper by 131.8% in the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 5,100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 2,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Randolph Co Inc increased its holdings in Southern Copper by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Randolph Co Inc now owns 193,362 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $22,366,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022 shares during the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on SCCO shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded Southern Copper from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $106.30 to $102.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Southern Copper from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $92.50 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern Copper currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.81.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

Shares of SCCO opened at $97.98 on Friday. Southern Copper Co. has a 1 year low of $78.53 and a 1 year high of $129.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.97 billion, a PE ratio of 25.23, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.13. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $102.12.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.01). Southern Copper had a net margin of 27.67% and a return on equity of 37.11%. On average, analysts predict that Southern Copper Co. will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 11th. This is a positive change from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is 72.09%.

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.