Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX Shares Acquired by Hodges Capital Management Inc.

Hodges Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 8.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 499,667 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after purchasing an additional 40,828 shares during the period. Freeport-McMoRan comprises approximately 1.7% of Hodges Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Hodges Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $19,597,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter worth $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 1,962.9% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 722 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 687 shares in the last quarter. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Proffitt & Goodson Inc. raised its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 977 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on FCX shares. CICC Research lifted their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $50.40 to $64.40 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.26.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

NYSE FCX opened at $61.03 on Wednesday. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1-year low of $27.66 and a 1-year high of $69.44. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $56.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.47.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $5.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.42 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 8.50%.The firm’s revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.31 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 15th were paid a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is 19.87%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 28,423 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.99, for a total value of $1,364,019.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 105,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,053,059.06. The trade was a 21.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 9,572 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.66, for a total value of $456,201.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 38,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,847,349.26. This represents a 19.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 513,986 shares of company stock valued at $32,124,432 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Company Profile

Freeport-McMoRan Inc is a U.S.-based natural resources company primarily engaged in the exploration, mining and processing of copper, gold and molybdenum. Its operations encompass large-scale open-pit and underground mining as well as associated concentrator and milling facilities. The company produces copper in the form of concentrates and cathodes, and also recovers gold and molybdenum as co-products; its business model includes exploration, development, mining, beneficiation and the sale of bulk commodities to smelters and industrial customers.

Freeport-McMoRan conducts operations and development activities across multiple geographies, with substantial assets in the Americas and Indonesia.