168,551 Shares in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Bought by CCM Investment Advisers LLC

CCM Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 168,551 shares of the natural resource company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,418,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 164,640 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $8,219,000 after acquiring an additional 14,501 shares during the period. Easterly Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 137.5% in the third quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 147,735 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $7,375,000 after purchasing an additional 85,542 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments boosted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 1,559.3% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 76,493 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $3,819,000 after purchasing an additional 71,883 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $754,000. Finally, AIA Group Ltd raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 92,224 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $4,604,000 after buying an additional 12,887 shares in the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of FCX traded down $0.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $39.31. The company had a trading volume of 5,028,273 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,204,816. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.26 and a fifty-two week high of $55.24. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.74. The stock has a market cap of $56.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a current ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $6.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.45 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 7.81%. The company’s revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.39 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is a positive change from Freeport-McMoRan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is presently 21.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on FCX shares. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $51.00 to $46.00 in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.96.

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.