Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Shares Down 1.8% After Analyst Downgrade

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) traded down 1.8% during mid-day trading on Monday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $67.00 to $66.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Freeport-McMoRan traded as low as $55.49 and last traded at $55.5520. 14,758,826 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 25% from the average session volume of 19,617,701 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.55.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Argus raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $77.00 to $68.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $66.00 price objective (down from $70.00) on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 11,000 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.03, for a total transaction of $682,330.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 40,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,529,149.19. The trade was a 21.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 29,654 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $1,868,202.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 76,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,816,035. The trade was a 27.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 565,145 shares of company stock worth $35,839,918 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Freeport-McMoRan

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 130,332,957 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $6,619,611,000 after purchasing an additional 1,572,769 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 63,880,757 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $3,244,504,000 after purchasing an additional 622,343 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 62,873,136 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $3,193,327,000 after purchasing an additional 395,226 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 37,353,852 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,897,202,000 after buying an additional 8,891,743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 190.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 36,494,793 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,431,326,000 after buying an additional 23,950,557 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.41. The company has a market cap of $79.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.10. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 10.34%.The business had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.73 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.24 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

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

About Freeport-McMoRan

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.