Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX Stock: State of Alaska Department of Revenue Cuts Stake

Key Points

• State of Alaska Department of Revenue cut its Freeport-McMoRan stake by 9.9% in the third quarter, selling 22,824 shares and retaining 207,160 shares valued at approximately $14.5 million.
• Other institutional investors increased their positions, with institutional ownership reaching 80.77% of FCX shares. The stock traded down 0.9% to $69.01, below its 50-day moving average but above its 200-day average.
• Analysts remain generally positive, giving FCX a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $76.22; the company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.075 per share.

State of Alaska Department of Revenue reduced its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 9.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 207,160 shares of the natural resource company's stock after selling 22,824 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue's holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $14,501,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE FCX traded down $0.61 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $69.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,375,706 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,119,832. The business's 50 day moving average is $72.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.50. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.54 and a 12-month high of $80.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market cap of $99.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.39.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.12. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 10.63% and a net margin of 11.39%. The company had revenue of $7.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.54 EPS. Freeport-McMoRan's quarterly revenue was down 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.90 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.0750 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FCX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $70.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.22.

Key Headlines Impacting Freeport-McMoRan

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

• Positive Sentiment: A halt at Freeport-McMoRan’s Grasberg operation could tighten global copper supply if it persists. Reduced supply may support copper prices and improve the outlook for FCX’s realized pricing and cash flow. However, the disruption could also temporarily reduce production. Does the Grasberg Halt Tighten Copper for Freeport-McMoRan?
• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank raised its Freeport-McMoRan EPS forecasts to $3.35 for FY2026 from $3.06 and to $2.86 for FY2027 from $2.62. The revisions suggest improving expectations for copper markets, production, costs or some combination of those factors.
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank also increased its FY2027 EPS estimate to $4.32 from $4.00 and maintained a Buy rating, providing a favorable long-term analyst signal.
• Neutral Sentiment: The reports describing FCX’s steeper decline than the broader market largely document the share-price performance rather than identify a new fundamental deterioration. Freeport-McMoRan Falls More Steeply Than Broader Market
• Negative Sentiment: Technical commentary argues that FCX’s rally looks tired and that consolidation is likely. This may encourage short-term investors to take profits, particularly with the stock below its 50-day moving average. Freeport-McMoRan Rally Looks Tired

Insider Activity at Freeport-McMoRan

In related news, CAO Ellie Mikes sold 4,773 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $334,110.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 36,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,520,000. This trade represents a 11.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Stephen Higgins sold 14,277 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total transaction of $992,251.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 54,618 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,795,951. The trade was a 20.72% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 110,398 shares of company stock valued at $8,387,271. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

About Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Inc NYSE: FCX is a leading international mining company focused primarily on the exploration, development and production of copper, gold and molybdenum. Copper is its principal product and is used in electrical systems, construction, transportation, renewable energy infrastructure and other industrial applications. The company also produces copper cathodes and concentrates, gold, molybdenum products and certain quantities of silver and other byproducts.

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

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