Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX Stock: Hosking Partners LLP Trims Holdings

Hosking Partners LLP cut its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,251,100 shares of the natural resource company's stock after selling 107,871 shares during the quarter. Freeport-McMoRan accounts for about 3.0% of Hosking Partners LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Hosking Partners LLP owned about 0.09% of Freeport-McMoRan worth $87,577,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FCX. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 2.7% during the third quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 41,120 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $2,878,000 after buying an additional 1,082 shares during the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 2.3% during the third quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 30,249 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $2,117,000 after buying an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. City State Bank increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 769.2% during the third quarter. City State Bank now owns 1,130 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 78.6% in the 3rd quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,405 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $518,000 after acquiring an additional 3,260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,264 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Freeport-McMoRan News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raises target to $84: Barclays increased its price target for Freeport-McMoRan, signaling greater confidence in the copper producer’s valuation and upside potential. A separate report said the analyst expects FCX shares to rise. Barclays raises target to USD 84.00 Freeport-McMoRan Stock Price Expected to Rise
• Positive Sentiment: Potential earnings beat: Analysts expect FCX’s upcoming earnings report to show growth, with Zacks citing a combination of factors that could support a beat. The company is also expected to announce results shortly, making earnings expectations a likely near-term trading catalyst. Freeport-McMoRan Earnings Expected to Grow Freeport-McMoRan Expected to Announce Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Copper versus rare-earth comparison: An investment comparison with MP Materials highlights FCX as a way to gain exposure to copper, a metal central to electricity-grid investment, rather than the higher-growth rare-earth market. The article does not identify a specific new catalyst for FCX. Rare Earths vs. Copper
• Negative Sentiment: Recent market underperformance: FCX declined during the latest reported session even as the broader market gained, indicating continued pressure on the shares despite favorable analyst commentary. Reports also question whether broker recommendations are overly optimistic and compare FCX’s performance with the basic-materials sector. Freeport-McMoRan Stock Sinks As Market Gains Freeport-McMoRan Considered a Good Investment

Insider Buying and Selling at Freeport-McMoRan

In related news, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 80,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.56, for a total transaction of $6,284,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 211,016 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,577,416.96. This trade represents a 27.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 4,773 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $334,110.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 36,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,520,000. This represents a 11.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 110,398 shares of company stock worth $8,387,271. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on FCX shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $78.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $70.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Freedom Broker cut Freeport-McMoRan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Barclays increased their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $76.27.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Down 0.0%

FCX opened at $68.85 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 0.92. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.54 and a fifty-two week high of $80.24. The company's 50 day moving average price is $72.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.91, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.39.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $7.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 10.63%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.0750 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 15th. Freeport-McMoRan's payout ratio is 14.78%.

Freeport-McMoRan Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding FCX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report).

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.