Short Interest in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Rises By 26.5%

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 22,880,000 shares, an increase of 26.5% from the March 31st total of 18,090,000 shares. Approximately 1.6% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 14,480,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock traded down $1.47 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $50.94. 4,315,056 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,002,478. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $44.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.51. The stock has a market cap of $73.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.38, a PEG ratio of 8.18 and a beta of 2.04. Freeport-McMoRan has a 12 month low of $32.83 and a 12 month high of $52.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 2.35.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is 26.55%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Caprock Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 12.5% during the first quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 14,381 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $676,000 after acquiring an additional 1,603 shares during the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 69,065 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $3,247,000 after buying an additional 2,232 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 824,574 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $35,900,000 after buying an additional 20,762 shares during the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the first quarter valued at about $315,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 5.0% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,647,914 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $77,485,000 after acquiring an additional 79,218 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FCX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bernstein Bank increased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $52.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Argus upped their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $44.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $49.50 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. HSBC upped their price target 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.07.

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.