Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 25.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,709,518 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 930,585 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $137,616,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Valtrion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at $296,000. XML Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at $247,000. Havemeyer Place LP purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at $3,911,000. Finally, Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at $249,000. 80.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Down 9.1%

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $63.37 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.17. The company has a market cap of $91.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.35. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.15 and a fifty-two week high of $72.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 2.39.

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

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 15th were given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is 15.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on FCX. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $66.00 price target (down from $70.00) on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Friday, April 24th. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $72.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. HSBC upped their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.04.

Freeport-McMoRan Profile

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.