Wesbanco Bank Inc. Purchases 142,828 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Key Points

• Wesbanco Bank sharply increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan, buying 142,828 additional shares in the fourth quarter and lifting its holdings to 177,936 shares worth about $9.0 million.
• Insider selling has been notable, with company executives including CAO Stephen T. Higgins and EVP Douglas N. Currault II selling shares in recent transactions. Over the past 90 days, insiders have sold 565,145 shares valued at $35.8 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall: Freeport-McMoRan has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $65.14. The company also beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, and recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.075 per share.

Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 406.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 177,936 shares of the natural resource company's stock after purchasing an additional 142,828 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc.'s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $9,037,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 130,332,957 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $6,619,611,000 after purchasing an additional 1,572,769 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 63,258,414 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $2,480,995,000 after purchasing an additional 899,699 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 62,477,910 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $2,450,384,000 after purchasing an additional 690,736 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 190.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 36,494,793 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $1,431,326,000 after purchasing an additional 23,950,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 21,671,223 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $849,945,000 after purchasing an additional 435,963 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 29,654 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were 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 owned 76,445 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,816,035. This represents a 27.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 75,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.52, for a total transaction of $4,839,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 219,181 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,141,558.12. The trade was a 25.49% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 565,145 shares of company stock worth $35,839,918. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FCX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $76.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane decreased their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $71.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $65.14.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FCX opened at $61.65 on Friday. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.15 and a fifty-two week high of $70.96. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 2.39. The firm has a market cap of $88.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.32.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.10. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 10.34%.The business had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.24 EPS. Freeport-McMoRan's revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th were given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Freeport-McMoRan's payout ratio is 15.96%.

Freeport-McMoRan News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research lifted earnings estimates for multiple future periods, signaling a stronger profit outlook for Freeport-McMoRan.
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that the Grasberg mine may return to full production in 2028 support the longer-term copper production story for FCX.
• Neutral Sentiment: The stock’s recent six-month gain reflects stronger copper prices and earnings, but this move may already reflect much of the optimism. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Higher costs and softer production volumes could pressure near-term results and limit upside in FCX shares. Article Title

About Freeport-McMoRan

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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