Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 19,810,000 shares, a decrease of 8.5% from the June 30th total of 21,640,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 13,650,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days. Currently, 1.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Down 3.9 %

NYSE FCX traded down $1.78 during trading on Thursday, hitting $43.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 12,257,871 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,659,217. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.40 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company has a market cap of $62.67 billion, a PE ratio of 38.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.92. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.13. Freeport-McMoRan has a fifty-two week low of $32.83 and a fifty-two week high of $55.24.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $6.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.60% and a net margin of 7.83%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.35 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Freeport-McMoRan

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 42,767 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.35, for a total value of $2,153,318.45. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 104,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,255,381.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Richard C. Adkerson sold 54,771 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.78, for a total transaction of $2,781,271.38. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,652,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $185,472,832.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 42,767 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.35, for a total value of $2,153,318.45. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 104,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,255,381.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 177,538 shares of company stock valued at $9,096,990 in the last quarter. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Chilton Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 374.1% during the second quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 1,593 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 1,257 shares during the period. Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 9.6% during the second quarter. Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. now owns 7,995 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $389,000 after purchasing an additional 698 shares during the period. Convergence Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the second quarter worth about $842,000. Guidance Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 6.6% during the second quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 15,400 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $699,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares during the period. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 8.3% during the second quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,826 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $332,000 after acquiring an additional 526 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bernstein Bank increased their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $52.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com raised Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley raised Freeport-McMoRan from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $49.50 to $62.00 in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Bank of America upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.07.

About Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Inc engages in the mining of mineral properties in North America, South America, and Indonesia. It primarily explores for copper, gold, molybdenum, silver, and other metals. The company's assets include the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia; Morenci, Bagdad, Safford, Sierrita, and Miami in Arizona; Chino and Tyrone in New Mexico; and Henderson and Climax in Colorado, North America, as well as Cerro Verde in Peru and El Abra in Chile.