Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Shares Down 1% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) fell 1% on Friday. The company traded as low as $68.80 and last traded at $69.3350. Approximately 10,876,495 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 33% from the average daily volume of 16,134,435 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.06.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FCX has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Barclays raised their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $70.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $78.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.22.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Down 1.0%

The company has a market cap of $99.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.16, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.39. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $72.12 and its 200-day moving average is $66.62. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $7.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 10.63%. Freeport-McMoRan’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.54 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.90 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 15th will be paid a $0.0750 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Stephen Higgins sold 14,277 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total transaction of $992,251.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 54,618 shares in the company, valued at $3,795,951. This represents a 20.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Lydia Kennard sold 3,798 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.11, for a total transaction of $300,459.78. Following the sale, the director directly owned 122,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,706,955.22. This trade represents a 3.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 110,398 shares of company stock worth $8,387,271. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Freeport-McMoRan

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FCX. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 2,011 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Steph & Co. lifted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 43.7% during the 1st quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 493 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,539 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Breakwater Capital Group boosted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 15,930 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,115,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Essex Bank grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.2% in the first quarter. Essex Bank now owns 14,104 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $829,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

About Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Inc (NYSE: FCX) is a global mining company primarily engaged in the exploration, development, and production of copper. Copper is used extensively in electrical wiring, construction, transportation, renewable energy systems, and other industrial applications. The company also produces gold and molybdenum, a metal used in steelmaking and other industrial processes, as well as certain other byproducts.

Freeport-McMoRan operates a portfolio of mining and processing assets in North America, South America, and Indonesia.