Wedmont Private Capital Raises Stock Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Wedmont Private Capital lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,726 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,665 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $652,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCX. Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.4% in the third quarter. Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. now owns 47,144 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $2,357,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,777 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,037,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 4,577 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,681 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $560,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,548 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. 80.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $39.47 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.81, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.87. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.33 and a quick ratio of 1.30. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12 month low of $36.26 and a 12 month high of $55.24.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.81% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The business had revenue of $6.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is 21.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on FCX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $48.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.96.

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.