Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Shares Down 2.7%

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) dropped 2.7% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $48.75 and last traded at $49.07. Approximately 1,578,897 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 13,600,835 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.42.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on FCX shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $49.50 to $62.00 in a report on Friday, June 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $41.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.93.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Down 3.1 %

The company has a market cap of $69.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.93, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.92. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $50.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.70 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 6.97% and a return on equity of 7.17%. The business’s revenue was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is 26.55%.

Insider Activity at Freeport-McMoRan

In related news, VP Douglas N. Currault II sold 55,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.99, for a total value of $2,859,450.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 164,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,529,843.33. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Douglas N. Currault II sold 55,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.99, for a total value of $2,859,450.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 164,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,529,843.33. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 43,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.08, for a total transaction of $2,242,412.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 104,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,331,577.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 445,667 shares of company stock valued at $22,755,070. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Leavell Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 77,810 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $3,782,000 after buying an additional 2,188 shares during the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 19.5% during the 2nd quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,386 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $3,213,000 after purchasing an additional 10,170 shares during the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 8,892 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. TruWealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 195.0% during the 2nd quarter. TruWealth Advisors LLC now owns 15,404 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $749,000 after purchasing an additional 10,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 19.3% during the 2nd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 4,967 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 805 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

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.