4,186 Shares in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) Purchased by Kesler Norman & Wride LLC

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC purchased a new stake in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,186 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $382,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SCCO. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Southern Copper by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 108,753 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,969,000 after buying an additional 14,391 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in Southern Copper by 384.4% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 90,173 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,430,000 after purchasing an additional 71,558 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Southern Copper by 74.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,402,983 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $162,283,000 after purchasing an additional 599,610 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in Southern Copper by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 137,019 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $12,487,000 after purchasing an additional 24,933 shares during the period. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Southern Copper in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,397,000. 7.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Copper Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of SCCO opened at $94.41 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.85, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a current ratio of 2.77. Southern Copper Co. has a 52 week low of $84.33 and a 52 week high of $127.34. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $94.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $100.61.

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 the consensus estimate 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, analysts predict that Southern Copper Co. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. This is a boost from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio is 64.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group raised Southern Copper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Southern Copper from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $106.30 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $52.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.42.

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.