Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Shares Down 2% Following Analyst Downgrade

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)’s share price was down 2% during trading on Friday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $67.00 to $66.00. The company traded as low as $56.50 and last traded at $56.6390. Approximately 14,619,690 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 26% from the average daily volume of 19,682,484 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.78.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on FCX. Freedom Capital raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $76.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 27th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 price objective on Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group raised their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $66.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, HSBC lifted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.52, for a total value of $4,839,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 219,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,141,558.12. This trade represents a 25.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Richard C. Adkerson sold 152,960 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.65, for a total value of $9,888,864.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 3,356,159 shares in the company, valued at $216,975,679.35. The trade was a 4.36% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 565,145 shares of company stock worth $35,839,918 in the last ninety days. 0.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCX. Steph & Co. increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 43.7% during the 1st quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 493 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the first quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Down 2.0%

The firm has a market capitalization of $81.40 billion, a PE ratio of 30.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.73 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 10.34%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.24 EPS. Analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th were issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is 15.96%.

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.