Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Chairman Sells $15,576,346.80 in Stock

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Chairman Richard Adkerson sold 248,031 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.80, for a total transaction of $15,576,346.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 3,509,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $220,372,673.20. This trade represents a 6.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FCX traded up $2.15 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $65.41. The company had a trading volume of 15,482,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,777,887. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.66 and a 1 year high of $69.44. The company has a market capitalization of $93.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.47. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $54.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.45.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.19. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 8.50%.The business had revenue of $5.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

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

Freeport-McMoRan News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Stifel Nicolaus raised its price target on FCX from $52 to $76 and reiterated a “buy” rating — the new target implies roughly a mid-teens upside from the current price, a clear catalyst for buyer interest. BayStreet.CA
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks reports that earnings estimate revisions for FCX have been trending upward (“Surging Earnings Estimates”), supporting the case for further near-term share gains as consensus earnings projections get bumped higher. Surging Earnings Estimates Signal Upside for Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks notes FCX is attracting investor attention and is among the most-watched stocks on its site, reflecting elevated retail and professional interest but not a specific new fundamental change. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FCX) is Attracting Investor Attention
• Neutral Sentiment: Pieces comparing FCX to peers and profiling it as a long-term value (including FCX vs SCCO and why it may be a top value stock) provide framing for investors weighing sector-relative value but contain no new company-specific catalysts. Is FreeportMcMoRan (FCX) Stock Outpacing Its Basic Materials Peers This Year?
• Neutral Sentiment: Short takes on weekly momentum and buy-side optimism summarize positive market attention and analyst bullishness but are more descriptive than catalytic. Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) Is Up 0.73% in One Week
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks’ overview of Wall Street optimism highlights how analyst narratives and ratings influence flows; helpful context but not a fresh company development. Wall Street Bulls Look Optimistic About Freeport-McMoRan (FCX)

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,807 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $564,000 after purchasing an additional 2,882 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC raised its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 9,616 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $366,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $560,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 41.2% in the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 48,088 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $2,085,000 after buying an additional 14,033 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 22.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 149,162 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $6,466,000 after buying an additional 27,570 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FCX. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $68.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Citigroup raised their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, HSBC increased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.35.

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.