Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Buys 751,392 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 648.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 867,343 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after buying an additional 751,392 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $34,017,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in FCX. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 1,962.9% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 722 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 687 shares during the period. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Proffitt & Goodson Inc. raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 39.8% in the third quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 977 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FCX. Wall Street Zen upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $58.40.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Up 0.9%

FCX opened at $60.76 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.45. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a one year low of $27.66 and a one year high of $69.44. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $52.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.19. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 8.50%.The company had revenue of $5.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.31 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 15th were issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is presently 19.87%.

Insider Activity at Freeport-McMoRan

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 28,423 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.99, for a total value of $1,364,019.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 105,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,053,059.06. The trade was a 21.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 9,572 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.66, for a total transaction of $456,201.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 38,761 shares in the company, valued at $1,847,349.26. The trade was a 19.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Inc is a U.S.-based natural resources company primarily engaged in the exploration, mining and processing of copper, gold and molybdenum. Its operations encompass large-scale open-pit and underground mining as well as associated concentrator and milling facilities. The company produces copper in the form of concentrates and cathodes, and also recovers gold and molybdenum as co-products; its business model includes exploration, development, mining, beneficiation and the sale of bulk commodities to smelters and industrial customers.

Freeport-McMoRan conducts operations and development activities across multiple geographies, with substantial assets in the Americas and Indonesia.