Oaktree Capital Management LP Reduces Stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Oaktree Capital Management LP cut its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,504,865 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 491,210 shares during the period. Freeport-McMoRan accounts for 0.5% of Oaktree Capital Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Oaktree Capital Management LP’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $59,021,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 1,962.9% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 722 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 687 shares during the last quarter. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Proffitt & Goodson Inc. increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 39.8% during the 3rd quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 977 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Down 3.3%

Shares of FCX traded down $1.98 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $57.23. The stock had a trading volume of 1,684,237 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,183,105. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12-month low of $27.66 and a 12-month high of $69.75. The firm has a market cap of $82.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 2.29. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.81.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $5.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.42 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 8.50%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.31 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 15th were issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is presently 19.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on FCX. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Argus raised Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.59.

Insider Activity

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 75,000 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.52, for a total transaction of $4,839,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 219,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,141,558.12. The trade was a 25.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Maree E. Robertson sold 48,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.55, for a total transaction of $2,985,175.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 79,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,917,475.70. This represents a 37.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 565,145 shares of company stock worth $35,839,918. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

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.