Westpac Banking Corp Boosts Stock Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. by 29.7%, owning 67,067 shares valued at approximately $2.54 million at the end of the latest quarter.
• Freeport-McMoRan reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS), exceeding analysts' expectations, along with a 14.5% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.
• The company declared a $0.15 quarterly dividend, translating to an annualized yield of 1.4%, with a dividend payout ratio of 22.73%.

Westpac Banking Corp increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 29.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 67,067 shares of the natural resource company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,345 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $2,539,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 833 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. City Holding Co. purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 38.2% in the 1st quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 1,153 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Up 1.5%

FCX opened at $42.10 on Wednesday. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12 month low of $27.66 and a 12 month high of $52.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The business's 50-day moving average price is $42.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.11. The company has a market cap of $60.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.63.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.09. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.37% and a net margin of 7.45%. The business had revenue of $7.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.85 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. Freeport-McMoRan's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FCX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $42.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $52.00 price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $56.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $51.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 8,584 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.02, for a total transaction of $343,531.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 48,333 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,934,286.66. This represents a 15.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Inc engages in the mining of mineral properties in North America, South America, and Indonesia. It primarily explores for copper, gold, molybdenum, silver, and other metals. The company's assets include the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia; Morenci, Bagdad, Safford, Sierrita, and Miami in Arizona; Chino and Tyrone in New Mexico; and Henderson and Climax in Colorado, North America, as well as Cerro Verde in Peru and El Abra in Chile.

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