Magnetar Financial LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial increased its stake in Freeport‑McMoRan by 311.5% in Q3, owning 43,367 shares after buying an additional 32,828 shares, worth about $1.70 million at quarter end.
• Company insiders have been net sellers recently — including CAOs selling 11,000 and 29,654 shares — with insiders selling 565,145 shares valued at $35.84 million over the last 90 days while insiders now own just 0.75% of the stock and institutions own 80.77%.
• Freeport beat quarterly expectations (EPS $0.47 vs. $0.28; revenue $5.63B vs. $5.42B) and analysts have raised targets, leaving a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $62.59.

Magnetar Financial LLC lifted its position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 311.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,367 shares of the natural resource company's stock after purchasing an additional 32,828 shares during the quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC's holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $1,701,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of FCX. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1,962.9% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 722 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 687 shares in the last quarter. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Proffitt & Goodson Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 977 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Freeport-McMoRan

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 11,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.03, for a total transaction of $682,330.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 40,773 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,529,149.19. The trade was a 21.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 29,654 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $1,868,202.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 76,445 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,816,035. This represents a 27.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 565,145 shares of company stock valued at $35,839,918 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FCX opened at $59.15 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $61.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.81. The company has a market cap of $85.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.41. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12 month low of $27.66 and a 12 month high of $69.75.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $5.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.42 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 8.50%.Freeport-McMoRan's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 15th were issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 15th. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $53.50 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.59.

Freeport-McMoRan Profile

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.

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