Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX Stock: Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Grows Position

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 5.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 216,669 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,784 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $15,167,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. NBH Bank purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Steph & Co. lifted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 43.7% in the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 493 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 196.5% during the second quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC now owns 593 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Freeport-McMoRan this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $83 to $84 and maintained an “overweight” rating, implying substantial potential upside from the referenced price. Freeport-McMoRan price target raised by Barclays
• Positive Sentiment: Upcoming earnings expectations are supportive. Zacks says FCX has two factors associated with a potential earnings beat, while analysts expect earnings to grow in the upcoming report. A strong result could provide a near-term catalyst, although the report has not yet been released. Freeport-McMoRan earnings expected to grow
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerage recommendations are favorable, but their reliability is questioned. FCX’s average brokerage recommendation suggests the stock may merit inclusion in a portfolio. However, the article cautions that Wall Street analysts can be overly optimistic, making the rating a less dependable standalone buy signal. Freeport-McMoRan brokerage recommendations
• Negative Sentiment: Sector-relative performance may be weighing on sentiment. A comparison of FCX with Steel Dynamics and the broader basic-materials sector examines whether the company has lagged this year, potentially signaling weaker relative momentum and helping explain the stock’s decline. Freeport-McMoRan basic materials sector comparison

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on FCX shares. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $66.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $73.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $78.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $76.27.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Down 1.2%

FCX opened at $68.93 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.95, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 0.92. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a one year low of $38.54 and a one year high of $80.24.

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

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Freeport-McMoRan

In related news, EVP Douglas Currault, II sold 80,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.56, for a total value of $6,284,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 211,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,577,416.96. This represents a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Lydia Kennard sold 3,798 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.11, for a total value of $300,459.78. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 122,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,706,955.22. The trade was a 3.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 110,398 shares of company stock valued at $8,387,271. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Profile

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.