Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) EVP Douglas Currault II Sells 75,000 Shares of Stock

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) EVP Douglas Currault II sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.52, for a total transaction of $4,839,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 219,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,141,558.12. This trade represents a 25.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

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

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

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

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

Key Stories Impacting Freeport-McMoRan

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 added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the second quarter worth $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 1,962.9% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 722 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 687 shares during the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on FCX shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $53.50 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $58.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $68.00 price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Monday, January 5th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.