Insider Selling: Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Director Sells $300,459.78 in Stock

Key Points

• Director Lydia Kennard sold 3,798 Freeport-McMoRan shares for approximately $300,460, reducing her direct ownership by 3% to 122,702 shares.
• FCX traded at $76.54, near its 12-month high of $80.24, after reporting quarterly EPS of $0.74 and revenue of $7.03 billion, both above analyst expectations.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, but the average price target of $70.27 is below the current share price, reflecting valuation concerns after the stock’s copper-driven rally.

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) Director Lydia Kennard sold 3,798 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.11, for a total value of $300,459.78. Following the sale, the director directly owned 122,702 shares in the company, valued at $9,706,955.22. The trade was a 3.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of FCX stock traded down $1.88 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $76.54. The company had a trading volume of 18,057,069 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,102,846. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.15 and a 12 month high of $80.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 2.07. The firm's fifty day moving average is $65.30 and its 200 day moving average is $63.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.70, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.37.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $7.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 10.63% and a net margin of 11.39%.Freeport-McMoRan's revenue was down 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th were issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.78%.

Key Stories Impacting Freeport-McMoRan

Here are the key news stories impacting Freeport-McMoRan this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Recent performance data shows strong momentum, with FCX gaining significantly over the past month, quarter, and year. Zacks also identifies the stock as a strong momentum name, which may continue attracting trend-focused investors. Freeport McMoRan On Smelter Optimism And Whether The Stock Is Already Priced In Here's Why Freeport-McMoRan Is a Strong Momentum Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Optimism surrounding Freeport-McMoRan’s smelter operations and favorable copper prices supports the company’s growth outlook. A new Erste Group Bank coverage initiation with a “buy” rating also adds positive analyst sentiment. Erste Group Bank coverage
• Positive Sentiment: FCX recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $0.74 in earnings per share versus a $0.62 consensus estimate and revenue of $7.03 billion versus $6.62 billion expected. Analysts broadly maintain a “Moderate Buy” view, although the average published price target is below the current trading range.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts comparing FCX with BHP Group point to strong copper prices, healthy finances, and ongoing growth projects at both miners. The comparison supports the sector outlook but does not provide a clear company-specific catalyst. FCX versus BHP
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns are weighing on the stock after its copper-fueled rally. While a discounted-cash-flow analysis suggests potential upside, market-multiple measures indicate FCX may be expensive following its strong run. Freeport-McMoRan Stock May Be Pricey After Record Copper Rally
• Negative Sentiment: Executive Vice President Douglas Currault II sold 80,000 shares worth approximately $6.3 million, reducing his holdings by 27.5%. Although the sale may be personal or scheduled, it can reinforce profit-taking concerns when the stock is near record levels. Freeport-McMoRan Insider Selling

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 6,434.3% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 142,181,964 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $8,941,824,000 after acquiring an additional 140,006,047 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 63,880,757 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $3,244,504,000 after purchasing an additional 622,343 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 62,873,136 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $3,193,327,000 after purchasing an additional 395,226 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 20.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 42,345,502 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $2,489,069,000 after purchasing an additional 7,044,775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 37,353,852 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $1,897,202,000 after purchasing an additional 8,891,743 shares in the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on FCX shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $70.27.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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