Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Trims Stock Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership cut its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 43.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,241,970 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 8,731,138 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $660,803,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 130,332,957 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $6,619,611,000 after buying an additional 1,572,769 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 63,880,757 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $3,244,504,000 after acquiring an additional 622,343 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 62,873,136 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $3,193,327,000 after acquiring an additional 395,226 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 37,353,852 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,897,202,000 after acquiring an additional 8,891,743 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 34,262,241 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,740,179,000 after acquiring an additional 3,130,046 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $63.31 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.01 billion, a PE ratio of 33.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.37. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a one year low of $35.15 and a one year high of $72.28. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $63.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 2.39.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 9.88%. Freeport-McMoRan’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be issued 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 of this dividend is Wednesday, July 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.96%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on FCX shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $78.00 price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.95.

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.