Distillate Capital Partners LLC Invests $19.79 Million in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO)

Distillate Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 217,106 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $19,785,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Southern Copper by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 108,753 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $9,969,000 after buying an additional 14,391 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of 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. grew its stake in shares of Southern Copper by 22.2% in 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 last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in Southern Copper during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,397,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Southern Copper during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,420,000. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Copper Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:SCCO traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $86.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,058,290 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,224,006. Southern Copper Co. has a 12-month low of $74.84 and a 12-month high of $127.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.01, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $91.57 and a 200-day moving average of $98.62. The company has a quick ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 40.27% and a net margin of 29.53%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Southern Copper Co. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. This is an increase from Southern Copper's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. Southern Copper's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Southern Copper from $52.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Southern Copper from $120.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Southern Copper from $84.00 to $83.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $89.58.

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.