Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Decreases Stock Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 55.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 74,777 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 93,636 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $3,733,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1,170.7% in the second quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 521 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Matrix Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 1.6 %

FCX stock opened at $44.40 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $63.80 billion, a PE ratio of 32.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 2.33. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a one year low of $36.04 and a one year high of $55.24. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $46.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.05.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.81% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The company had revenue of $6.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.39 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th were issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com lowered Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.00.

Freeport-McMoRan Company Profile

Freeport-McMoRan Inc engages in the mining of mineral properties in North America, South America, and Indonesia. It primarily explores for copper, gold, molybdenum, silver, and other metals. The company's assets include the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia; Morenci, Bagdad, Safford, Sierrita, and Miami in Arizona; Chino and Tyrone in New Mexico; and Henderson and Climax in Colorado, North America, as well as Cerro Verde in Peru and El Abra in Chile.