Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Shares Up 5.3% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Freeport-McMoRan shares rose 5.3% to $76.61 in midday trading, reaching a high of $78.64 and trading above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analysts maintain a generally favorable view, with one Strong Buy, 20 Buy and four Hold ratings; the consensus is “Moderate Buy,” although the average $70.27 price target is below the current share price.
• The company beat quarterly expectations with adjusted EPS of $0.74 versus $0.62 expected and revenue of $7.03 billion, while reporting a $0.075 quarterly dividend and continued insider selling totaling about $8.4 million over the last quarter.

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) shares rose 5.3% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $78.64 and last traded at $76.6050. Approximately 16,702,232 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 1% from the average daily volume of 16,918,434 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.73.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FCX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Freedom Broker downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Friday, May 15th. Citigroup restated a "positive" rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $70.27.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.46. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market cap of $110.01 billion, a PE ratio of 37.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.41.

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, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, Director Lydia H. Kennard sold 3,798 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,706,955.22. This trade represents a 3.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 4,773 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $334,110.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 36,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,520,000. The trade was a 11.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 110,398 shares of company stock worth $8,387,271. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $8,941,824,000 after purchasing an additional 140,006,047 shares during the period. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 2nd quarter valued at $739,890,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 98.8% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 19,973,108 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $1,014,434,000 after acquiring an additional 9,924,573 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 37,353,852 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $1,897,202,000 after purchasing an additional 8,891,743 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 102.5% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 14,211,579 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $721,806,000 after acquiring an additional 7,192,955 shares during the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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