Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Shares Up 1.7% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) were up 1.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $62.28 and last traded at $61.6510. Approximately 12,177,957 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 37% from the average daily volume of 19,442,230 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.61.

Freeport-McMoRan News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research lifted earnings estimates for multiple future periods, signaling a stronger profit outlook for Freeport-McMoRan.
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that the Grasberg mine may return to full production in 2028 support the longer-term copper production story for FCX.
• Neutral Sentiment: The stock’s recent six-month gain reflects stronger copper prices and earnings, but this move may already reflect much of the optimism. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Higher costs and softer production volumes could pressure near-term results and limit upside in FCX shares. Article Title

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FCX. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $53.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $72.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $71.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.14.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $88.60 billion, a PE ratio of 32.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 2.39. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $61.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.79.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.10. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 10.34%.The company had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.73 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.24 earnings per share. Freeport-McMoRan’s revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 11,000 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.03, for a total value of $682,330.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 40,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,529,149.19. The trade was a 21.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 75,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 219,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,141,558.12. The trade was a 25.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 565,145 shares of company stock valued at $35,839,918. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Freeport-McMoRan

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 49.0% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 221,838 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $11,267,000 after purchasing an additional 73,002 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 8.0% during the third quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 1,551,258 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $60,840,000 after buying an additional 115,285 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments lifted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 278.4% in the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 46,157 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,810,000 after buying an additional 33,959 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 190.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 36,494,793 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,431,326,000 after acquiring an additional 23,950,557 shares during the period. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,066,000. 80.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.