Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 29,210,000 shares, a growth of 29.6% from the April 30th total of 22,540,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 17,400,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.7 days. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on FCX. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and set a $52.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Friday, April 25th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $47.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Freeport-McMoRan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.82.

Insider Activity at Freeport-McMoRan

In related news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 8,584 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.02, for a total transaction of $343,531.68. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 48,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,934,286.66. The trade was a 15.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Freeport-McMoRan

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Hawaiian Bank raised its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 30,192 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $1,143,000 after purchasing an additional 1,442 shares during the last quarter. Drummond Knight Asset Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the 1st quarter valued at $41,437,000. Inspire Investing LLC grew its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 146,029 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $5,529,000 after buying an additional 10,176 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the 1st quarter valued at $23,631,000. Finally, GK Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 1st quarter worth $235,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Up 2.0%

NYSE:FCX traded up $0.80 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $41.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 17,268,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,258,864. Freeport-McMoRan has a 52-week low of $27.66 and a 52-week high of $52.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $36.30 and a 200-day moving average of $38.39.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The natural resource company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.36 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.50% and a net margin of 7.42%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.79%.

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.