Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) VP Douglas N. Currault II Sells 55,000 Shares of Stock

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) VP Douglas N. Currault II sold 55,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.99, for a total transaction of $2,859,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 164,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,529,843.33. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of FCX opened at $49.91 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.59 billion, a PE ratio of 44.17, a PEG ratio of 8.49 and a beta of 2.04. The company’s 50-day moving average is $45.21 and its 200-day moving average is $40.62. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.83 and a fifty-two week high of $52.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 1.41.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 12th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is 26.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on FCX shares. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $49.50 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $41.00 to $48.50 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.07.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 422.2% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Company Profile

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.