Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 314,026 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Bank of Nova Scotia lessened its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 16.6% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,579,852 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 314,026 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $92,862,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gibbs Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 49.2% in the 1st quarter. Gibbs Wealth Management now owns 31,872 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,873,000 after purchasing an additional 10,509 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 3.6% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,098,433 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $64,566,000 after purchasing an additional 38,233 shares during the period. Keynote Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the first quarter valued at about $227,000. State of Wyoming increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 102.4% in the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 10,816 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $636,000 after purchasing an additional 5,473 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 26.9% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 688,431 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $40,466,000 after buying an additional 145,835 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

FCX stock opened at $63.31 on Friday. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1-year low of $35.15 and a 1-year high of $72.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market cap of $91.01 billion, a PE ratio of 33.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.37. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $63.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.33.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $7.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 10.34%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is currently 15.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FCX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $77.00 to $68.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $67.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $71.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.95.

More Freeport-McMoRan News

Here are the key news stories impacting Freeport-McMoRan this week:

• Positive Sentiment: FCX reported second-quarter earnings of $0.74 per share, ahead of the $0.62 consensus, while revenue of $7.03 billion also topped estimates, helped by higher realized metal prices. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Freeport-McMoRan said net income rose sharply year over year, and commentary around strong income growth and improved operations points to healthy underlying profitability. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Higher copper prices provided a tailwind to results, and one analyst also raised FCX’s price target to $80, suggesting some optimism remains around the stock’s longer-term setup. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Management posted its quarterly and six-month results and highlighted strategic expansions, but also noted challenges from capital spending and regulatory approvals. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Shares are under pressure because lower operating rates at the Grasberg mine and a softer copper sales outlook for the next quarter have raised concerns about near-term production and revenue. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Recent weakness in copper prices has also weighed on sentiment across the sector, adding to investor caution around FCX’s near-term earnings momentum. Article Title

Freeport-McMoRan Profile

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.