BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Trims Holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp cut its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 239,707 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 35,033 shares during the quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $11,966,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter worth $25,000. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the second quarter worth $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its position in 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. Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the second quarter worth $26,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the second quarter worth $27,000. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of FCX stock opened at $44.20 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.85. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.04 and a fifty-two week high of $55.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.26, a P/E/G ratio of 17.44 and a beta of 1.91. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 7.81%. The business had revenue of $6.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.39 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th were given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 (DPR) is 21.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James increased their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group raised Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.00.

Freeport-McMoRan 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.