Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Short Interest Down 10.9% in September

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 18,660,000 shares, a drop of 10.9% from the August 31st total of 20,940,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 11,400,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

FCX stock opened at $51.34 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $73.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.89. Freeport-McMoRan has a 52-week low of $32.83 and a 52-week high of $55.24. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 2.40.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $6.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.60% and a net margin of 7.83%. Freeport-McMoRan’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.55%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its position in 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 valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the period. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the second quarter worth about $26,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the second quarter worth about $27,000. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on FCX. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. UBS Group upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $55.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.93.

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.