Investors Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX)

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors purchased 101,726 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 29% compared to the average volume of 78,989 call options.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 3.2%

NYSE:FCX traded up $1.76 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $56.17. 23,482,664 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,493,029. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.45. Freeport-McMoRan has a one year low of $27.66 and a one year high of $57.12. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.57. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.09. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.84% and a net margin of 7.97%.The company had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.38 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 15th will be issued a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is presently 21.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 9,572 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.66, for a total transaction of $456,201.52. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 38,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,847,349.26. This represents a 19.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 28,423 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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. This trade represents a 21.26% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FCX. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1,962.9% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 722 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 687 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter worth $36,000. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stores Impacting Freeport-McMoRan

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

• Negative Sentiment: Rosen Law Firm reminds investors of the January 12 lead-plaintiff deadline in a securities class action first filed by the firm; solicitation highlights potential claims covering Feb 15, 2022–Sep 24, 2025. FCX DEADLINE: ROSEN, THE FIRST FILING FIRM
• Negative Sentiment: Faruqi & Faruqi announces an investigation and urges investors who incurred losses to contact the firm ahead of the Jan. 12 lead-plaintiff deadline. INVESTOR NOTICE: Faruqi & Faruqi
• Negative Sentiment: The Portnoy Law Firm announces a class action and reminds investors of the Jan. 12 deadline to file lead-plaintiff motions in the case covering the same class period. Portnoy Law Firm Announces Class Action
• Negative Sentiment: Levi & Korsinsky notifies Freeport shareholders of a class action alleging securities fraud for the Feb 15, 2022–Sep 24, 2025 period and an upcoming filing deadline. FCX LAWSUIT ALERT: Levi & Korsinsky
• Negative Sentiment: Robbins Geller, Glancy Prongay & Murray, Schall Law, The Gross Law Firm and others also issued notices or reminders about the same class action and the Jan. 12 lead-plaintiff deadline, signaling broad solicitor activity across firms. (Examples: Robbins Geller / Glancy / Schall.) SHAREHOLDER ACTION REMINDER: Faruqi & Faruqi

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on FCX. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Monday. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 31st. UBS Group raised their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Three 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $50.49.

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.