Guidance Capital Inc. Acquires 23,004 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Guidance Capital Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 142.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,154 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after buying an additional 23,004 shares during the quarter. Guidance Capital Inc.’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $1,480,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FCX. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter worth $25,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 487.8% during the 4th quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 723 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 150.4% in the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 576 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 46.8% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 740 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on FCX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $48.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Argus downgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $51.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.46.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 1.8 %

FCX opened at $36.49 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $52.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $39.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1-year low of $34.89 and a 1-year high of $55.24.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.05). Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.50% and a net margin of 7.42%. Analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.