Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX Shares Sold by Faithward Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Faithward Advisors LLC cut its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 46.8% in Q3, selling 43,566 shares and finishing the period with 49,545 shares valued at about $1.94 million.
• Corporate insiders have been heavy sellers—over the last 90 days insiders disposed of 565,145 shares worth roughly $35.84 million, including notable sales by the CAO and an EVP, leaving insiders with just 0.79% ownership.
• Freeport beat expectations for the quarter with EPS of $0.47 vs. $0.28 expected and revenue of $5.63B vs. $5.42B expected; analysts’ consensus is a Moderate Buy with a $62.59 price target.

Faithward Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 46.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,545 shares of the natural resource company's stock after selling 43,566 shares during the period. Faithward Advisors LLC's holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $1,943,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FCX. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 1,962.9% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 722 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 687 shares during the period. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of FCX opened at $58.02 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $83.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.42, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.41. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52 week low of $27.66 and a 52 week high of $69.75. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $61.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.19. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 8.50%.The company had revenue of $5.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.42 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.31 earnings per share. Freeport-McMoRan's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 29,654 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $1,868,202.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 76,445 shares in the company, valued at $4,816,035. The trade was a 27.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.52, for a total transaction of $4,839,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 219,181 shares in the company, valued at $14,141,558.12. This trade represents a 25.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 565,145 shares of company stock worth $35,839,918. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FCX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $62.59.

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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