Freeport-McMoRan Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:FCX)

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Investors purchased 117,081 call options on the company. This is an increase of 68% compared to the typical volume of 69,723 call options.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $50.50 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $44.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.44 billion, a PE ratio of 44.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.00 and a beta of 2.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Freeport-McMoRan has a 12-month low of $32.83 and a 12-month high of $52.42.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.05. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 6.97% and a return on equity of 7.17%. The company had revenue of $6.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FCX. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $49.50 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. HSBC raised their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.07.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 422.2% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 658 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

About Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Inc engages in the mining of mineral properties in North America, South America, and Indonesia. It primarily explores for copper, gold, molybdenum, silver, and other metals. The company's assets include the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia; Morenci, Bagdad, Safford, Sierrita, and Miami in Arizona; Chino and Tyrone in New Mexico; and Henderson and Climax in Colorado, North America, as well as Cerro Verde in Peru and El Abra in Chile.