Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Shares Down 1.8% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Freeport-McMoRan shares fell by 1.8% to $42.01 as of mid-day trading, coming down from a previous close of $42.78 with over 16 million shares traded.
• Analysts have mixed opinions, with JPMorgan Chase raising their price target to $50.00 and HSBC reducing it to $43.00, leading to an overall average price target of $46.56.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, with a record date of October 15th and a dividend yield of 1.4%.

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) shares were down 1.8% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $40.50 and last traded at $42.01. Approximately 16,271,957 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 3% from the average daily volume of 16,817,063 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.78.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. HSBC lowered their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $46.00 to $43.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. UBS Group set a $48.00 price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Johnson Rice lowered their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $48.00 in a report on Monday, September 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.56.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $60.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $42.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 2.47.

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

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Freeport-McMoRan's payout ratio is 22.73%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. OLD National Bancorp IN grew its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 2.8% in the third quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 14,889 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $584,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares during the period. Shikiar Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 38.1% in the third quarter. Shikiar Asset Management Inc. now owns 208,885 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $8,192,000 after buying an additional 57,650 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 42,467 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $1,666,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981 shares during the period. Parcion Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 91,974 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $3,607,000 after purchasing an additional 1,615 shares during the period. Finally, Foundation Resource Management Inc. boosted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Foundation Resource Management Inc. now owns 221,826 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $8,700,000 after purchasing an additional 1,064 shares during the period. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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