Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. Grows Position in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO)

Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO) by 13.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,255 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 496 shares during the period. Laffer Tengler Investments Inc.’s holdings in Southern Copper were worth $388,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in Southern Copper by 172.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 223 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 2.6% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 173,419 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $20,059,000 after purchasing an additional 4,435 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 11,640 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its position in Southern Copper by 15.8% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 26,713 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,090,000 after buying an additional 3,639 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Equity Group Inc. acquired a new position in Southern Copper during the third quarter worth $226,000. 7.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Copper Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of SCCO opened at $85.95 on Wednesday. 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 $67.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $94.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $101.36. Southern Copper Co. has a 12-month low of $79.59 and a 12-month high of $129.79.

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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a positive change from Southern Copper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.