Freeport-McMoRan Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:FCX)

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) saw some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 92,303 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 48% compared to the average daily volume of 62,442 call options.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Up 7.4 %

FCX traded up $3.33 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $48.47. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 16,702,594 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,214,437. The company has a current ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $43.45 and its 200-day moving average is $47.26. Freeport-McMoRan has a 1 year low of $32.83 and a 1 year high of $55.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.90, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.89.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.07. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.60% and a net margin of 7.83%. The business had revenue of $6.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.35 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is 26.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FCX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. Scotiabank cut their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $58.00 to $52.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. UBS Group upgraded shares of 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. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.93.

Institutional Trading of Freeport-McMoRan

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 22.0% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 72,896,288 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $3,427,583,000 after purchasing an additional 13,143,562 shares during the period. Capital International Investors purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $417,752,000. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 40.9% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 15,155,256 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $712,600,000 after buying an additional 4,396,309 shares during the last quarter. Asia Research & Capital Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the first quarter worth $197,966,000. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the first quarter worth $162,464,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

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.