Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX Stock Acquired by AIA Group Ltd

Key Points

• AIA Group increased its Freeport-McMoRan stake by 44.1% in the third quarter, adding 34,364 shares to hold 112,324 shares valued at about $7.86 million.
• Other institutions also expanded or established positions, and hedge funds and other institutional investors collectively owned 80.77% of FCX.
• Freeport reported quarterly earnings of $0.88 per share, above the $0.82 consensus, with revenue up 8.2% year over year; analysts’ consensus rating was “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $75.30.

AIA Group Ltd lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 44.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 112,324 shares of the natural resource company's stock after purchasing an additional 34,364 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd's holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $7,863,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,485,424 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $4,181,268,000 after buying an additional 2,300,416 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 20.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 42,345,502 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $2,489,069,000 after acquiring an additional 7,044,775 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 13.8% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,918,066 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $938,197,000 after buying an additional 1,810,698 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 10.5% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 11,819,898 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $743,353,000 after acquiring an additional 1,125,982 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 2nd quarter worth about $739,890,000. 80.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Freeport expects 2027 copper sales volumes to grow more than 20%. It also reported that new leaching additives achieved lab recoveries more than four times initial results, offering a potential boost to production efficiency. Article: Freeport-McMoRan: 3 Key Takeaways for Long-Term Investors
• Positive Sentiment: The board approved a $4.5 billion expansion and modernization program at the Bagdad operation in Arizona, aimed at increasing copper and molybdenum production. This could support longer-term U.S. output growth. Article: Freeport Announces Plans to Boost U.S. Copper & Molybdenum Production
• Positive Sentiment: An analyst commentary said the Grasberg recovery remains on schedule and cited solid mine cash flows; it also expects delayed Indonesian gold sales to reverse in the fourth quarter. These factors support the recovery outlook, though the commentary noted reduced copper sales and higher capital spending. Article: Freeport-McMoRan: Grasberg Remains On Schedule, And I Remain At Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: A Zacks analysis described FCX as technically oversold after a 14.9% decline over four weeks, while noting analysts’ earnings estimate revisions have been upward. That may indicate selling pressure is easing, but does not ensure a near-term rebound. Article: Down 14.9% in 4 Weeks, Here's Why You Should You Buy the Dip in Freeport-McMoRan
• Negative Sentiment: The $4.5 billion Bagdad project entails significant upfront capital spending, which could weigh on cash flow as Freeport pursues future production growth.
• Negative Sentiment: Freedom Broker lowered its expectations for FCX’s stock price, a counterpoint to the more constructive analyst outlook. Article: Freedom Broker Has Lowered Expectations for Freeport-McMoRan Stock Price

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on FCX shares. UBS Group cut their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $66.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. 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. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $75.30.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE:FCX opened at $62.63 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $89.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.38. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.54 and a 1 year high of $80.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 2.02. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $65.28.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The natural resource company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $7.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.36 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 13.03% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 15th were paid a $0.0750 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Freeport-McMoRan's payout ratio is currently 12.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Freeport-McMoRan

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 80,000 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.56, for a total value of $6,284,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 211,016 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,577,416.96. This trade represents a 27.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lydia H. Kennard sold 3,798 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.11, for a total transaction of $300,459.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 122,702 shares in the company, valued at $9,706,955.22. This represents a 3.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Freeport-McMoRan Profile

Freeport-McMoRan Inc NYSE: FCX is a global mining company primarily engaged in the exploration, development, and production of copper. Copper is used extensively in electrical wiring, construction, transportation, renewable energy systems, and other industrial applications. The company also produces gold and molybdenum, a metal used in steelmaking and other industrial processes, as well as certain other byproducts.

Freeport-McMoRan operates a portfolio of mining and processing assets in North America, South America, and Indonesia.

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