Hilltop National Bank Reduces Holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Hilltop National Bank lessened its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 17.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,371 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 715 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $128,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FCX. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Matrix Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 150.4% during the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 576 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the period. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 46.8% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 740 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of FCX stock opened at $38.99 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.03 billion, a PE ratio of 28.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.87. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1-year low of $36.26 and a 1-year high of $55.24. The business has a 50-day moving average of $42.09 and a 200 day moving average of $44.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.33 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 7.81%. The business had revenue of $6.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.39 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. This is a boost from Freeport-McMoRan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on FCX shares. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $48.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com lowered Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $51.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.96.

About Freeport-McMoRan

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.