Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Announces Earnings Results

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The natural resource company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.07, Briefing.com reports. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.83% and a return on equity of 7.69%. The business had revenue of $6.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.35 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock traded up $0.35 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $44.53. 16,902,211 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,742,296. Freeport-McMoRan has a twelve month low of $32.83 and a twelve month high of $55.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.92. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.02. 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Argus upped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $44.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Bank of America raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, HSBC upped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.