Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Stock Price Down 1.3% - Here's What Happened

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) traded down 1.3% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $38.85 and last traded at $38.97. 2,062,683 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 16,848,350 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.47.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FCX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $42.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Wolfe Research raised Freeport-McMoRan from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $39.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $52.00 price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.36.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Down 1.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $56.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 2.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $36.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.07.

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

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 15th. Freeport-McMoRan's payout ratio is currently 24.79%.

Institutional Trading of Freeport-McMoRan

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 160,920 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $6,128,000 after purchasing an additional 2,503 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 311,555 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $11,864,000 after buying an additional 18,852 shares in the last quarter. City State Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1,282.0% in the fourth quarter. City State Bank now owns 1,382 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 1,282 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 16,726 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $652,000 after acquiring an additional 1,665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter valued at $355,000. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Company Profile

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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