Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $53.23 and last traded at $53.2020, with a volume of 133642 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $51.92.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FCX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $58.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Johnson Rice cut their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $53.00 price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Dbs Bank lowered their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $51.00 to $48.00 in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $49.49.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.03. The firm has a market cap of $76.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.74 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.97% and a return on equity of 7.84%. Freeport-McMoRan’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 15th will be given a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 9,572 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.66, for a total value of $456,201.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 38,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,847,349.26. This trade represents a 19.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 28,423 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.99, for a total transaction of $1,364,019.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 105,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,053,059.06. This trade represents a 21.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AIA Group Ltd grew its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 31.2% in the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 166,630 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $6,535,000 after purchasing an additional 39,624 shares during the period. Mirabella Financial Services LLP bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,282,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 26,167 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,026,000 after buying an additional 3,302 shares in the last quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,883,000. Finally, Strategic Advocates LLC grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC now owns 18,184 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $713,000 after buying an additional 993 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

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.