Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX Shares Bought by Truist Financial Corp

Key Points

• Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 11.6% in the fourth quarter, buying 19,667 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 188,591 shares worth about $9.6 million.
• Freeport-McMoRan reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.57 versus estimates of $0.47 and revenue of $6.23 billion versus expectations of $5.73 billion. Revenue also rose 8.8% year over year.
• Wall Street sentiment remains broadly positive, with analysts maintaining an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.14, while recent news highlighted stronger long-term production prospects at Grasberg but near-term pressure from higher costs and softer output.

Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 11.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 188,591 shares of the natural resource company's stock after buying an additional 19,667 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp's holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $9,579,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FCX. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,807 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $564,000 after purchasing an additional 2,882 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 9,616 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the second quarter worth about $560,000. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 27.0% during the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 12,443 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $539,000 after purchasing an additional 2,648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 42.7% during the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 50,114 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $2,172,000 after purchasing an additional 14,992 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $61.65 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.32. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.15 and a 52 week high of $70.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm's 50 day moving average is $61.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.79.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.73 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The firm's revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.24 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th were paid a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 15th. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. HSBC increased their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $66.00 target price (down from $70.00) on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $53.50 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.14.

Freeport-McMoRan News Summary

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Richard C. Adkerson sold 248,031 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $220,372,673.20. This trade represents a 6.60% 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, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 29,654 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $1,868,202.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 76,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,816,035. This trade represents a 27.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 565,145 shares of company stock valued at $35,839,918 over the last three months. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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