Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Stock Falls 1% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Freeport-McMoRan shares fell 1% to approximately $69.34, with trading volume about 33% below the average session volume.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $76.22; recent targets range from $47 to $85.
• The company beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $0.74 EPS and $7.03 billion in revenue, while declaring a $0.075 quarterly dividend yielding approximately 0.4%. However, insiders sold more than 110,000 shares worth $8.4 million over the past 90 days.

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 1% during trading on Friday. The company traded as low as $68.80 and last traded at $69.3350. Approximately 10,876,495 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 33% from the average session volume of 16,134,435 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.06.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FCX. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Citigroup increased their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $66.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $73.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $76.22.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $72.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.60. The company has a market capitalization of $99.57 billion, a PE ratio of 34.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.39.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.12. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 10.63%. The business had revenue of $7.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. The company's revenue was down 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.90 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, October 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.0750 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 15th. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.78%.

Insider Activity at Freeport-McMoRan

In related news, Director Lydia Kennard sold 3,798 shares of the business'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 directly owned 122,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,706,955.22. The trade was a 3.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Douglas Currault, II sold 80,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.56, for a total transaction of $6,284,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 211,016 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,577,416.96. This represents a 27.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 110,398 shares of company stock valued at $8,387,271 in the last ninety days. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Freeport-McMoRan

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Banque Pictet & Cie SA increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 14.9% in the third quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 224,858 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $15,740,000 after purchasing an additional 29,163 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the third quarter valued at about $209,000. Aspiriant LLC grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 22.4% in the 3rd quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 4,839 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 887 shares during the last quarter. Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 265.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. now owns 1,653 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 1,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goelzer Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.1% in the third quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 51,319 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $3,592,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the period. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Inc NYSE: FCX is a leading international 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 systems, construction, transportation, renewable energy infrastructure and other industrial applications. The company also produces copper cathodes and concentrates, gold, molybdenum products and certain quantities of silver and other byproducts.

Freeport-McMoRan operates a portfolio of mining and processing assets in North America, South America and Indonesia.

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