Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Trading 1.5% Higher - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Shares of Freeport-McMoRan traded up about 1.5% to $57.81 on Thursday while volume was down roughly 18% versus the average session; the 50-day/200-day moving averages are $62.16 and $54.24, respectively.
• The company beat earnings and revenue for the quarter (EPS $0.57 vs. $0.47 est.; revenue $6.23B vs. $5.73B), and analysts maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $65.19.
• Insiders have been net sellers—565,145 shares (~$35.8M) sold over the last quarter—while the firm declared a quarterly dividend of $0.075 (annualized yield ~0.5%).

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) traded up 1.5% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $58.34 and last traded at $57.8050. 16,152,116 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 18% from the average session volume of 19,738,857 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.93.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $77.00 to $68.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $53.50 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $65.19.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company's fifty day moving average is $62.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.24. The stock has a market cap of $83.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.48.

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

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 11,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.03, for a total value of $682,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 40,773 shares in the company, valued at $2,529,149.19. The trade was a 21.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Maree E. Robertson sold 48,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.55, for a total transaction of $2,985,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 79,894 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,917,475.70. This trade represents a 37.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 565,145 shares of company stock valued at $35,839,918. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,807 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $564,000 after purchasing an additional 2,882 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 9,616 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the second quarter worth $560,000. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 27.0% during the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 12,443 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $539,000 after purchasing an additional 2,648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 42.7% during the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 50,114 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $2,172,000 after purchasing an additional 14,992 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Company Profile

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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