Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Trading Up 1.5% – Here’s Why

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) were up 1.5% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $58.34 and last traded at $57.8050. Approximately 16,152,116 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 18% from the average daily volume of 19,738,857 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.93.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on FCX shares. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $53.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Bank of America upped their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $66.00 price target (down from $70.00) on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.14.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Down 2.0%

The stock has a market capitalization of $81.40 billion, a PE ratio of 30.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $62.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.73 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 10.34%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.24 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th were paid a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is 15.96%.

Insider Transactions at Freeport-McMoRan

In other news, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.52, for a total value of $4,839,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 219,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,141,558.12. This represents a 25.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 29,654 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $1,868,202.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 76,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,816,035. This trade represents a 27.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 565,145 shares of company stock valued at $35,839,918. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Freeport-McMoRan

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 49.0% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 221,838 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $11,267,000 after purchasing an additional 73,002 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 8.0% during the third quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 1,551,258 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $60,840,000 after purchasing an additional 115,285 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments grew its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 278.4% during the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 46,157 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,810,000 after purchasing an additional 33,959 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 190.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 36,494,793 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,431,326,000 after purchasing an additional 23,950,557 shares during the period. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter valued at $1,066,000. 80.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Inc is a U.S.-based natural resources company primarily engaged in the exploration, mining and processing of copper, gold and molybdenum. Its operations encompass large-scale open-pit and underground mining as well as associated concentrator and milling facilities. The company produces copper in the form of concentrates and cathodes, and also recovers gold and molybdenum as co-products; its business model includes exploration, development, mining, beneficiation and the sale of bulk commodities to smelters and industrial customers.

Freeport-McMoRan conducts operations and development activities across multiple geographies, with substantial assets in the Americas and Indonesia.