Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Shares Down 2.9% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) dropped 2.9% on Monday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $70.00 to $66.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Freeport-McMoRan traded as low as $54.17 and last traded at $54.6030. Approximately 14,022,335 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 33% from the average daily volume of 20,878,076 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.24.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley set a $70.00 price target on Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. HSBC lifted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Freeport-McMoRan

In related news, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.52, for a total transaction of $4,839,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 219,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,141,558.12. This trade represents a 25.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 29,654 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $1,868,202.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 76,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,816,035. The trade was a 27.95% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 565,145 shares of company stock worth $35,839,918 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 190.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 23,950,557 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 98.8% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 19,973,108 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,014,434,000 after purchasing an additional 9,924,573 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 37,353,852 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,897,202,000 after purchasing an additional 8,891,743 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 89.4% in the 2nd quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 17,569,169 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $761,623,000 after purchasing an additional 8,292,873 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 102.5% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 14,211,579 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $721,806,000 after purchasing an additional 7,192,955 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.72. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $78.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.41.

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

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is currently 19.87%.

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.