Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX Shares Sold by Sona Asset Management US LLC

Key Points

• Sona Asset Management US LLC cut its Freeport-McMoRan stake by 75% in the first quarter, selling 75,000 shares and retaining 25,000 shares valued at approximately $1.47 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 80.77% of FCX.
• Analysts remain generally positive, with FCX receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $70.18; recent targets range from $58.50 to $85.00.
• Freeport-McMoRan exceeded quarterly expectations with adjusted EPS of $0.74 versus $0.62 expected and revenue of $7.03 billion versus $6.62 billion expected. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.075 per share, representing a 0.5% annualized yield.

Sona Asset Management US LLC trimmed its position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 75.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,000 shares of the natural resource company's stock after selling 75,000 shares during the quarter. Sona Asset Management US LLC's holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $1,470,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 7.9% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 2,011 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Steph & Co. lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 43.7% in the 1st quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 493 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Essex Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Essex Bank now owns 14,104 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $829,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Leo Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Leo Wealth LLC now owns 6,838 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Finally, Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 18,674 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $1,098,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on FCX shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.50 to $58.50 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $70.18.

Trending Headlines about Freeport-McMoRan

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

• Positive Sentiment: FCX reported Q2 adjusted EPS of $0.74 and revenue of $7.03 billion, both ahead of Wall Street estimates, helped by higher realized copper and gold prices. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Management said the Grasberg ramp remains on schedule, U.S. operations are improving, and the brownfield copper pipeline is expanding, which supports longer-term production growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target on FCX to $73 from $70, signaling continued analyst confidence in the stock’s upside. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Several recent writeups highlighted strong income growth, free cash flow, and the benefit of firmer copper prices, reinforcing the investment case for FCX. Article Title

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:FCX opened at $62.54 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $89.90 billion, a PE ratio of 30.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.37. The company's 50-day moving average price is $63.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.38. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.15 and a fifty-two week high of $72.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.12. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 10.63%. The firm had revenue of $7.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. Freeport-McMoRan's quarterly revenue was down 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be given a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 15th. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.78%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.