Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 3,778 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 25.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 18,678 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,778 shares during the quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $932,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1,170.7% during the second quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 521 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the first quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on FCX shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com cut Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 1.6 %

FCX opened at $47.00 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $67.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.31, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company’s 50 day moving average is $46.22 and its 200-day moving average is $47.62. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.83 and a 1-year high of $55.24.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $6.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.45 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.81% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.39 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were issued a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is presently 21.90%.

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.