Quest Partners LLC Decreases Stock Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Quest Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 64.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,865 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 3,310 shares during the quarter. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $93,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1,170.7% in the second quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 521 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the period. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter worth about $25,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the second quarter worth about $26,000. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FCX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Raymond James upped their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.00.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of FCX stock opened at $44.20 on Friday. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a twelve month low of $36.04 and a twelve month high of $55.24. The stock has a market cap of $63.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.94, a PEG ratio of 17.26 and a beta of 1.91. The business’s fifty day moving average is $46.88 and its 200 day moving average is $46.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 7.81%. The firm had revenue of $6.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.39 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were paid a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.90%.

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.