Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Purchases 497,349 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 114.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 933,717 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after buying an additional 497,349 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.07% of Freeport-McMoRan worth $58,721,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan lifted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 4.1% in the second quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan now owns 192,452 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $12,103,000 after acquiring an additional 7,589 shares during the period. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 2nd quarter valued at about $278,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 13.8% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,918,066 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $938,197,000 after purchasing an additional 1,810,698 shares during the period. Archer Investment Corp bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,126,000. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on FCX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $72.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Erste Group Bank started coverage on Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.27.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Down 2.4%

NYSE FCX opened at $76.54 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market cap of $109.91 billion, a PE ratio of 37.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $65.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.02. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.15 and a 52 week high of $80.24.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.74 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of $6.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.54 earnings per share. Freeport-McMoRan’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th were given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.78%.

Freeport-McMoRan News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Freeport-McMoRan this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Recent performance data shows strong momentum, with FCX gaining significantly over the past month, quarter, and year. Zacks also identifies the stock as a strong momentum name, which may continue attracting trend-focused investors. Freeport McMoRan On Smelter Optimism And Whether The Stock Is Already Priced In Here’s Why Freeport-McMoRan Is a Strong Momentum Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Optimism surrounding Freeport-McMoRan’s smelter operations and favorable copper prices supports the company’s growth outlook. A new Erste Group Bank coverage initiation with a “buy” rating also adds positive analyst sentiment. Erste Group Bank coverage
• Positive Sentiment: FCX recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $0.74 in earnings per share versus a $0.62 consensus estimate and revenue of $7.03 billion versus $6.62 billion expected. Analysts broadly maintain a “Moderate Buy” view, although the average published price target is below the current trading range.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts comparing FCX with BHP Group point to strong copper prices, healthy finances, and ongoing growth projects at both miners. The comparison supports the sector outlook but does not provide a clear company-specific catalyst. FCX versus BHP
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns are weighing on the stock after its copper-fueled rally. While a discounted-cash-flow analysis suggests potential upside, market-multiple measures indicate FCX may be expensive following its strong run. Freeport-McMoRan Stock May Be Pricey After Record Copper Rally
• Negative Sentiment: Executive Vice President Douglas Currault II sold 80,000 shares worth approximately $6.3 million, reducing his holdings by 27.5%. Although the sale may be personal or scheduled, it can reinforce profit-taking concerns when the stock is near record levels. Freeport-McMoRan Insider Selling

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 80,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.56, for a total transaction of $6,284,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 211,016 shares in the company, valued at $16,577,416.96. The trade was a 27.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Lydia H. Kennard sold 3,798 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.11, for a total value of $300,459.78. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 122,702 shares in the company, valued at $9,706,955.22. This represents a 3.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 110,398 shares of company stock worth $8,387,271 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

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.