Candriam S.C.A. Has $19.07 Million Stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Candriam S.C.A. increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 486,128 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,163 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $19,066,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aegis Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the 3rd quarter valued at $833,000. Gables Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 8.3% in the third quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 18,201 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $714,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 77.2% in the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 6,728 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 2,932 shares in the last quarter. Nikulski Financial Inc. increased its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 69.0% during the third quarter. Nikulski Financial Inc. now owns 8,155 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 3,330 shares during the period. Finally, First Dallas Securities Inc. increased its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 14.5% during the third quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 126,844 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $4,975,000 after acquiring an additional 16,088 shares during the period. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of FCX stock opened at $63.65 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.32. The company has a market cap of $91.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a twelve month low of $27.66 and a twelve month high of $69.44.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $5.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.42 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 8.50%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.31 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $68.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Monday, January 5th. CICC Research boosted their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $50.40 to $64.40 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. HSBC raised their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.40.

Insider Activity at Freeport-McMoRan

In related news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 9,572 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.66, for a total value of $456,201.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 38,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,847,349.26. This represents a 19.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 28,423 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.99, for a total transaction of $1,364,019.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 105,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,053,059.06. The trade was a 21.26% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.79% of the stock is 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.