Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Stock Price Up 5.3% – What’s Next?

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) shares traded up 5.3% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $78.64 and last traded at $76.6050. 16,702,232 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 1% from the average daily volume of 16,918,434 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.73.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on FCX shares. HSBC increased their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $72.00 to $75.00 in a report on Friday, June 12th. Erste Group Bank assumed coverage on Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Thursday, August 27th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.27.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Up 5.3%

The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.46. The company has a market capitalization of $110.01 billion, a PE ratio of 37.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.41.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $7.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 10.63% and a net margin of 11.39%.Freeport-McMoRan’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th were issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Freeport-McMoRan 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 211,016 shares in the company, valued at $16,577,416.96. This represents a 27.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Stephen Higgins sold 14,277 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total transaction of $992,251.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 54,618 shares in the company, valued at $3,795,951. This trade represents a 20.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 110,398 shares of company stock valued at $8,387,271 over the last ninety days. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 6,434.3% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 142,181,964 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $8,941,824,000 after purchasing an additional 140,006,047 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $739,890,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 98.8% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 19,973,108 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,014,434,000 after buying an additional 9,924,573 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 37,353,852 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,897,202,000 after acquiring an additional 8,891,743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 102.5% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 14,211,579 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $721,806,000 after buying an additional 7,192,955 shares during the period. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.