Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Short Interest Update

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 22,880,000 shares, an increase of 26.5% from the March 31st total of 18,090,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 14,480,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days. Currently, 1.6% of the company's stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Freeport-McMoRan from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $41.00 to $48.50 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Argus boosted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $44.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Bernstein Bank boosted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $52.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Raymond James boosted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $49.50 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, HSBC boosted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.07.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

NYSE FCX traded up $1.10 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $50.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 19,037,059 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,097,275. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.69, a P/E/G ratio of 8.18 and a beta of 2.04. Freeport-McMoRan has a 1-year low of $32.83 and a 1-year high of $52.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The company's 50-day moving average is $44.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.40.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.05. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.17% and a net margin of 6.97%. The business had revenue of $6.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Freeport-McMoRan's payout ratio is currently 26.55%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 422.2% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 658 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company's stock.

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.