Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Shares Up 3% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Freeport-McMoRan shares rose 3% to about $74.34, trading above both their 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating based on one Strong Buy, 20 Buy, and four Hold ratings; the average price target is $70.29.
• The company exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $0.74 EPS and $7.03 billion in revenue, while maintaining a quarterly dividend of $0.075 per share. Insiders sold $8.4 million of stock over the past quarter.

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) shares shot up 3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $74.90 and last traded at $74.3380. 8,241,331 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 51% from the average daily volume of 16,649,180 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.16.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FCX has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Freedom Broker cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $70.29.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Up 3.0%

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 company has a market cap of $106.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.41. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.85.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.12. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 10.63% and a net margin of 11.39%.The business had revenue of $7.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.54 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th were given a $0.075 dividend. 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 is currently 14.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 14,277 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $992,251.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 54,618 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,795,951. This represents a 20.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lydia H. Kennard sold 3,798 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 122,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,706,955.22. This represents a 3.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 110,398 shares of company stock valued at $8,387,271 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. NBH Bank acquired a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Steph & Co. grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 43.7% in the 1st quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 493 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company's stock.

About Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Inc is a global mining company focused primarily on the exploration, development and production of copper, gold and molybdenum. Copper is its principal product and is used in electrical wiring, construction, transportation, industrial equipment and renewable-energy technologies. The company also produces gold as a byproduct of its copper operations and molybdenum, an alloying metal used in steelmaking and other industrial applications.

Freeport-McMoRan operates major mining and processing assets in North America, South America and Indonesia.

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