Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Trading Up 3% – Should You Buy?

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) rose 3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $74.90 and last traded at $74.3380. Approximately 8,241,331 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 51% from the average session volume of 16,649,180 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.16.

Key Headlines Impacting Freeport-McMoRan

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

• Positive Sentiment: Freeport declared total quarterly cash dividends of $0.15 per share, consisting of a $0.075 base dividend and a $0.075 performance-based variable dividend. The payment is scheduled for November 2, 2026, to shareholders of record on October 15. The variable payout signals continued cash-flow support, although the modest yield limits its likely impact on the share price. Freeport Declares Quarterly Cash Dividends on Common Stock
• Positive Sentiment: An industry comparison highlights FCX’s major copper projects, strong cash generation and exposure to favorable copper prices. These factors support the company’s long-term growth outlook, though the article frames FCX alongside Southern Copper rather than announcing a new company-specific development. FCX vs. SCCO: Which Copper Mining Giant Should You Bet On?
• Neutral Sentiment: FCX has attracted increased investor attention in recent market coverage. The reports provide a reminder to monitor copper prices, project execution and company fundamentals, but do not identify a specific new catalyst or change in analyst expectations. Freeport-McMoRan Is Attracting Investor Attention
• Negative Sentiment: FCX fell more than the overall market in the latest session and was reported lower in premarket trading. These articles largely describe the share-price weakness rather than cite a new operational or financial problem, suggesting the decline may reflect market positioning or profit-taking. Freeport-McMoRan Registers a Bigger Fall Than the Market

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on FCX. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $73.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. HSBC increased their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $72.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Friday, June 12th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $71.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.29.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $102.82 billion, a PE ratio of 35.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 2.07. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $69.35 and its 200 day moving average is $64.98.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $7.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.62 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 10.63% and a net margin of 11.39%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.54 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, October 15th will be paid a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 80,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.56, for a total value of $6,284,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 211,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,577,416.96. This trade represents a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 4,773 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $334,110.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 36,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,520,000. This represents a 11.71% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 110,398 shares of company stock worth $8,387,271. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp grew its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 3.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,485,424 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $4,181,268,000 after acquiring an additional 2,300,416 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 20.0% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 42,345,502 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $2,489,069,000 after acquiring an additional 7,044,775 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted 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 worth $1,897,202,000 after acquiring an additional 8,891,743 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 31,669,550 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,601,087,000 after purchasing an additional 238,997 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 22,685,423 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,152,193,000 after purchasing an additional 1,014,200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

About Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Inc is a global mining company focused primarily on the exploration, development and production of copper, gold and molybdenum. Copper is its principal product and is used in electrical wiring, construction, transportation, industrial equipment and renewable-energy technologies. The company also produces gold as a byproduct of its copper operations and molybdenum, an alloying metal used in steelmaking and other industrial applications.

Freeport-McMoRan operates major mining and processing assets in North America, South America and Indonesia.