Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Trading Down 1.8% After Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Shares fell 1.8% mid-day after Citigroup trimmed its price target to $66 (from $67); the stock traded near $55.55 and carries a consensus Moderate Buy rating with a $65.14 target.
• Significant insider selling occurred last quarter—565,145 shares worth $35.84 million were sold—leaving insiders with just 0.79% ownership.
• Quarterly results topped estimates: FCX reported $0.57 EPS vs. $0.47 expected and $6.23 billion in revenue (up 8.8% YoY), and it pays a small quarterly dividend of $0.075 (0.5% yield).

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 1.8% during mid-day trading on Monday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $67.00 to $66.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Freeport-McMoRan traded as low as $55.49 and last traded at $55.5520. Approximately 14,758,826 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 25% from the average daily volume of 19,617,701 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.55.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on FCX. Argus upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $71.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $77.00 to $68.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $65.14.

Insider Activity at Freeport-McMoRan

In related news, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 75,000 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.52, for a total transaction of $4,839,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 219,181 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,141,558.12. The trade was a 25.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Maree E. Robertson sold 48,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.55, for a total value of $2,985,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 79,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,917,475.70. This represents a 37.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 565,145 shares of company stock worth $35,839,918 in the last quarter. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Freeport-McMoRan

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 130,332,957 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $6,619,611,000 after purchasing an additional 1,572,769 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 63,880,757 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $3,244,504,000 after purchasing an additional 622,343 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 62,873,136 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $3,193,327,000 after buying an additional 395,226 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 37,353,852 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $1,897,202,000 after buying an additional 8,891,743 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 190.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 36,494,793 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $1,431,326,000 after buying an additional 23,950,557 shares during the period. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Down 1.8%

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 firm has a market cap of $79.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.55, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $62.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.41.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.10. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 10.34%.The firm had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.73 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.24 earnings per share. Freeport-McMoRan's revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th were issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 15th. Freeport-McMoRan's payout ratio is 15.96%.

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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