Channing Capital Management LLC Makes New $4.08 Million Investment in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Key Points

• Channing Capital Management LLC acquired 107,781 shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc., worth approximately $4.08 million, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Institutional investors own approximately 80.77% of Freeport-McMoRan's stock, highlighting its attractiveness to large investment firms.
• Freeport-McMoRan announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, reflecting a yield of 1.5% and a payout ratio of 22.73%.

Channing Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 107,781 shares of the natural resource company's stock, valued at approximately $4,081,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 833 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. City Holding Co. bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Dagco Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on FCX shares. UBS Group downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $50.00 in a report on Friday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 price target (up previously from $48.00) on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Friday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $42.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $51.00.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Up 3.6%

Freeport-McMoRan stock traded up $1.52 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $43.24. The company had a trading volume of 10,819,626 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,287,120. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The firm's fifty day moving average is $43.04 and its 200-day moving average is $39.44. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.66 and a fifty-two week high of $52.61.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $7.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.85 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.45% and a return on equity of 7.37%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 8,584 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.02, for a total value of $343,531.68. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 48,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,934,286.66. This represents a 15.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Company Profile

Freeport-McMoRan Inc engages in the mining of mineral properties in North America, South America, and Indonesia. It primarily explores for copper, gold, molybdenum, silver, and other metals. The company's assets include the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia; Morenci, Bagdad, Safford, Sierrita, and Miami in Arizona; Chino and Tyrone in New Mexico; and Henderson and Climax in Colorado, North America, as well as Cerro Verde in Peru and El Abra in Chile.