Insider Selling: Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) EVP Sells 75,000 Shares of Stock

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) EVP Douglas Currault II sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 219,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,141,558.12. The trade was a 25.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FCX traded up $2.15 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $65.41. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 15,482,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,777,887. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 2.29. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1-year low of $27.66 and a 1-year high of $69.44. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $54.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.45. The firm has a market cap of $93.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.47.

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

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 15th were issued a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.87%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Leo Wealth LLC lifted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Leo Wealth LLC now owns 6,838 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 924 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,687 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 1,840 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,119 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $158,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Clarkson Capital raised Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $46.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $53.50 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $68.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.35.

Key Freeport-McMoRan News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Stifel Nicolaus raised its price target on FCX from $52 to $76 and reiterated a “buy” rating — the new target implies roughly a mid-teens upside from the current price, a clear catalyst for buyer interest. BayStreet.CA
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks reports that earnings estimate revisions for FCX have been trending upward (“Surging Earnings Estimates”), supporting the case for further near-term share gains as consensus earnings projections get bumped higher. Surging Earnings Estimates Signal Upside for Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks notes FCX is attracting investor attention and is among the most-watched stocks on its site, reflecting elevated retail and professional interest but not a specific new fundamental change. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FCX) is Attracting Investor Attention
• Neutral Sentiment: Pieces comparing FCX to peers and profiling it as a long-term value (including FCX vs SCCO and why it may be a top value stock) provide framing for investors weighing sector-relative value but contain no new company-specific catalysts. Is FreeportMcMoRan (FCX) Stock Outpacing Its Basic Materials Peers This Year?
• Neutral Sentiment: Short takes on weekly momentum and buy-side optimism summarize positive market attention and analyst bullishness but are more descriptive than catalytic. Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) Is Up 0.73% in One Week
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks’ overview of Wall Street optimism highlights how analyst narratives and ratings influence flows; helpful context but not a fresh company development. Wall Street Bulls Look Optimistic About Freeport-McMoRan (FCX)

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.