Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New $8.42 Million Investment in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 92,391 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,420,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new stake in Southern Copper in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 210.7% in the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in Southern Copper by 143.4% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 477 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in Southern Copper during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Southern Copper by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 521 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Copper Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of SCCO opened at $89.12 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $90.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $97.67. Southern Copper Co. has a 12-month low of $74.84 and a 12-month high of $127.34. The company has a current ratio of 2.77, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $70.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.04.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last released 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 29.53% and a return on equity of 40.27%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Southern Copper Co. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. This is a boost from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is 64.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SCCO has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their price target on Southern Copper from $120.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Southern Copper from $52.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “sector underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $84.00 to $83.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern Copper has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $91.50.

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.