KBC Group NV Acquires 275,425 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 124.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 497,263 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after purchasing an additional 275,425 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $29,229,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 7.9% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 2,011 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Steph & Co. lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 43.7% during the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 493 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Essex Bank raised its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Essex Bank now owns 14,104 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $829,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Leo Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Leo Wealth LLC now owns 6,838 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 18,674 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,098,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

More Freeport-McMoRan News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Stifel Nicolaus raised its price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $76 to $80 and kept a buy rating, signaling confidence in further upside for FCX. Article Link
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts have increased their earnings forecast for FCX’s upcoming quarter to about $0.60 per share, suggesting stronger profitability even though revenue is expected to decline year over year due to cost discipline and operational efficiency. Article Link
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple earnings-preview and sector pieces highlighted FCX as a miner with potential to beat Q2 estimates, helped by stronger commodity prices. Article Link
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage around the global AI data center buildout continues to support the long-term copper demand story, with FCX positioned as a key beneficiary if AI infrastructure spending keeps accelerating. Article Link
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent articles also discussed FCX’s “copper turning point” and its attention in the copper market, but these were more thematic than immediately actionable for the stock. Article Link

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 6.4%

FCX stock opened at $62.57 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $63.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.15. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.15 and a fifty-two week high of $72.28. The firm has a market cap of $89.94 billion, a PE ratio of 33.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.37. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.10. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The company had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.24 earnings per share. Freeport-McMoRan’s revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be 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 is Wednesday, July 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FCX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Friday, May 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Citigroup reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.95.

Freeport-McMoRan Company 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.