Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Trading Down 5.3% on Insider Selling

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)’s share price dropped 5.3% during trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $61.25 and last traded at $62.0050. Approximately 23,437,402 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 1% from the average daily volume of 23,766,377 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.46.

Specifically, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.52, for a total value of $4,839,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 219,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,141,558.12. The trade was a 25.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Richard C. Adkerson sold 152,960 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.65, for a total value of $9,888,864.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 3,356,159 shares in the company, valued at $216,975,679.35. This trade represents a 4.36% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In other news, Chairman Richard C. Adkerson sold 248,031 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.80, for a total value of $15,576,346.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 3,509,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $220,372,673.20. The trade was a 6.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FCX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $53.50 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.26.

Key Freeport-McMoRan News

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

• Positive Sentiment: BNP Paribas Exane raised its price target on FCX to $75 (from $56) and kept an “outperform” rating — a sizeable lift to upside expectations. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Argus upgraded FCX from “hold” to “buy,” reinforcing buy-side momentum and contributing to short‑term demand. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Other broker actions (Stifel raised its target to $76; UBS, Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley have recently lifted targets) add to the analyst-driven narrative supporting higher valuations. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks and other research outlets highlight rising earnings-estimate revisions and momentum characteristics for FCX, which can justify multiple expansion if commodity prices and volumes cooperate. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Increased media and analyst attention (multiple Zacks pieces, MSN/Yahoo coverage) is amplifying flows into FCX but is informational rather than a direct operational catalyst. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Grasberg production setbacks materially reduced Q4 copper/gold volumes, a real operational headwind that can limit near-term revenue despite stronger prices. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider sales: Chairman Richard Adkerson disclosed multi-hundred-thousand‑share disposals (Feb. 10–11 filings) totaling tens of millions of dollars — these trades can sap sentiment even if explained by diversification or tax planning. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: EVP Douglas Currault II sold 75,000 shares (~$4.8M); insider selling at the executive level is a nearer-term negative for perception of internal conviction. Read More.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.60, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 2.29.

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

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 1,962.9% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

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.