Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX)

Key Points

• On Friday, investors purchased a significant volume of 68,864 call options for Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX), representing a 22% increase from the average daily volume.
• Freeport-McMoRan's stock price rose by 1.9% to $36.02, with a total of 21.79 million shares traded, surpassing its average volume of 16.18 million shares.
• The company has announced a $0.15 quarterly dividend payable on November 3rd, reflecting a 1.7% yield and a payout ratio of 22.73%.

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors bought 68,864 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 22% compared to the typical daily volume of 56,644 call options.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Up 1.9%

FCX stock traded up $0.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $36.02. 21,792,341 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,184,068. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 2.47. The firm has a market cap of $51.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.59. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $43.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.53. Freeport-McMoRan has a 1-year low of $27.66 and a 1-year high of $52.06.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $7.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.85 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.45% and a return on equity of 7.37%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 15th. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on FCX shares. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $45.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.50 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, HSBC reduced their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $46.00 to $43.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.74.

Institutional Trading of Freeport-McMoRan

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FCX. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,807 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 2,882 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 9,616 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $366,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 180,623 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $6,878,000 after purchasing an additional 22,206 shares during the last quarter. 111 Capital acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter worth $503,000. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC raised its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 3.3% during the first quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 14,630 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $554,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Freeport-McMoRan Company Profile

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.

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