Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX Stock Purchased by Candriam S.C.A.

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. increased its Freeport-McMoRan stake by 30.7% in the third quarter, adding 209,892 shares to hold 892,978 shares worth about $62.7 million.
• Freeport approved a $4.5 billion expansion of its Bagdad mine, aimed at more than doubling mining and milling rates and lowering long-term unit costs by roughly 20%; the investment has also raised near-term spending concerns.
• Freeport’s latest quarter beat estimates, with earnings of $0.88 per share and revenue of $7.55 billion, up 8.2% year over year. Executives also disclosed stock sales, including an 80,000-share sale by EVP Douglas N. Currault II.

Candriam S.C.A. raised its stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 30.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 892,978 shares of the natural resource company's stock after acquiring an additional 209,892 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. owned 0.06% of Freeport-McMoRan worth $62,737,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 34.5% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,062,916 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $62,478,000 after buying an additional 272,726 shares during the period. Iowa State Bank lifted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 50.7% in the third quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 50,144 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $3,510,000 after buying an additional 16,868 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 4.6% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,687,524 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $169,018,000 after acquiring an additional 117,888 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.4% in the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 9,970,872 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $627,068,000 after acquiring an additional 141,738 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 17.1% in the second quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,249,858 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $78,604,000 after acquiring an additional 182,714 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Freeport-McMoRan

In other news, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 80,000 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.56, for a total value of $6,284,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 211,016 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,577,416.96. The trade was a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lydia H. Kennard sold 3,798 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.11, for a total transaction of $300,459.78. Following the transaction, the director owned 122,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,706,955.22. This trade represents a 3.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Freeport-McMoRan

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

• Positive Sentiment: Freeport approved a $4.5 billion expansion of its Bagdad mine in Arizona. The project aims to more than double mining and milling rates, increase copper and molybdenum output, and reduce long-term unit costs by about 20%—potentially supporting future growth and margins. Article: Freeport's $4.5 Billion Bagdad Expansion to Boost U.S. Production
• Negative Sentiment: The project’s substantial capital cost, alongside higher capital-spending guidance, has raised near-term concerns and reportedly pressured shares after the company’s third-quarter results. Scotiabank also lowered its FY2026 and FY2027 EPS estimates to $3.20 and $2.57, respectively, though it kept a Sector Outperform rating and a $78 price target. Article: Powering Up: Freeport-McMoRan's $4.5B Copper Expansion

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on FCX shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $87.00 to $79.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.30.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 2.5%

NYSE:FCX opened at $59.36 on Friday. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.75 and a 12-month high of $80.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $69.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.27. The firm has a market cap of $85.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.94, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.38.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The natural resource company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.06. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 13.03%. The firm had revenue of $7.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.36 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 3.02 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.0750 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 12.61%.

Freeport-McMoRan Profile

Freeport-McMoRan Inc is a mining company focused primarily on the exploration, development and production of copper, gold and molybdenum. Its products serve industries including construction, manufacturing, electronics and energy.

The company operates mines and related facilities in North America, South America and Indonesia. Its assets include the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia and copper operations in the United States, Peru and Chile.

Freeport-McMoRan traces its roots to Freeport Sulphur Company, founded in 1912, and has since developed into a major international mining business.

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