Short Interest in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Decreases By 28.4%

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 20,920,000 shares, a decrease of 28.4% from the May 15th total of 29,210,000 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 16,650,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE FCX opened at $41.17 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $38.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.21. Freeport-McMoRan has a 52-week low of $27.66 and a 52-week high of $52.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.02, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The natural resource company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $5.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.36 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.03% and a net margin of 7.11%. The firm’s revenue was down 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $39.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 8,584 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.02, for a total transaction of $343,531.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 48,333 shares in the company, valued at $1,934,286.66. This represents a 15.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCX. Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 833 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. Finally, City Holding Co. bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Freeport-McMoRan Company Profile

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.