Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Has $639,000 Stake in Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO)

Key Points

• Empirical Financial Services LLC significantly reduced its holdings in Southern Copper Corporation by 84.3%, now owning just 6,840 shares worth approximately $639,000.
• Southern Copper announced a dividend increase from $0.62 to $1.01 per share, with the ex-dividend date set for August 15th.
• Analyst ratings have been mixed, with Morgan Stanley maintaining an "underweight" rating while several others upgraded their ratings, reflecting varying perspectives on the stock's future performance.

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management reduced its holdings in shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO - Free Report) by 84.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,840 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 36,665 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management's holdings in Southern Copper were worth $639,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SCCO. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in Southern Copper during the first quarter worth $2,637,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern Copper in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Southern Copper during the 1st quarter worth about $337,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Southern Copper by 35.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 906 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Novem Group increased its position in shares of Southern Copper by 34.4% during the first quarter. Novem Group now owns 10,758 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,005,000 after purchasing an additional 2,754 shares in the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SCCO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Southern Copper from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Southern Copper from $83.50 to $79.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. UBS Group lowered Southern Copper from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $105.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating and set a $99.00 price objective (up from $86.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Itau BBA Securities upgraded Southern Copper from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $91.00.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

Shares of SCCO traded up $2.40 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $97.47. 1,037,286 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,453,319. The business's 50-day moving average price is $97.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 4.51 and a current ratio of 5.27. Southern Copper Corporation has a 12 month low of $74.84 and a 12 month high of $121.44.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a -- dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $1.01 dividend. This is a boost from Southern Copper's previous -- dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a yield of 270.0%. Southern Copper's payout ratio is 70.02%.

Southern Copper Company 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.