Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Stock Falls 1.7% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Freeport-McMoRan shares fell 1.7% to about $70.73 on trading volume that was 40% below the average session volume.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $71.35; recent targets range from $70 to $82.
• The company exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $0.74 EPS and $7.03 billion in revenue, while declaring a $0.075 quarterly dividend.

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 1.7% on Tuesday. The company traded as low as $70.28 and last traded at $70.7260. 9,901,434 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 40% from the average session volume of 16,441,082 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.96.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $78.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $71.35.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Down 1.7%

The firm's 50 day moving average is $70.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.22. The stock has a market cap of $101.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

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

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CAO Stephen Higgins sold 14,277 shares of the company's 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 54,618 shares in the company, valued at $3,795,951. This represents a 20.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ellie Mikes sold 4,773 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $334,110.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 36,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,520,000. The trade was a 11.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 110,398 shares of company stock worth $8,387,271 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FCX. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,485,424 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $4,181,268,000 after buying an additional 2,300,416 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 20.0% in the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 7,044,775 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 31.2% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 22,685,423 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $1,152,193,000 after purchasing an additional 1,014,200 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings 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 valued at $1,014,434,000 after purchasing an additional 9,924,573 shares during the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Company Profile

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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