Simmons Bank Purchases Shares of 14,189 Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Simmons Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 14,189 shares of the natural resource company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Steph & Co. grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 43.7% in the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 493 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. SHP Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

NYSE:FCX opened at $62.92 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $64.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.06. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.15 and a 52-week high of $72.28. The firm has a market cap of $90.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.47, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.35.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.10. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The company had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.24 EPS. Freeport-McMoRan’s revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. HSBC boosted their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $72.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Friday, June 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $76.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 27th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $66.00 price objective (down from $70.00) on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $77.00 to $68.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.36.

About Freeport-McMoRan

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.