Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Shares Down 3.6% – Here’s Why

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) traded down 3.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $67.46 and last traded at $67.6350. 16,987,697 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 15% from the average session volume of 19,877,430 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.18.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FCX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. HSBC raised their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $70.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.26.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Down 3.6%

The stock has a market capitalization of $97.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.48. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $62.33 and its 200-day moving average is $53.27. 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 (NYSE:FCX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.19. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The firm had revenue of $5.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.42 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.31 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.87%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Maree E. Robertson sold 48,500 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.55, for a total transaction of $2,985,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 79,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,917,475.70. This trade represents a 37.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Richard C. Adkerson sold 248,031 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chairman directly owned 3,509,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $220,372,673.20. This represents a 6.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 565,145 shares of company stock worth $35,839,918 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Steph & Co. raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 43.7% in the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 493 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. SHP Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the third quarter worth about $25,000. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.