Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Sees Strong Trading Volume After Dividend Announcement

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. Approximately 42,977,163 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 170% from the previous session’s volume of 15,899,228 shares.The stock last traded at $35.55 and had previously closed at $37.67.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on FCX shares. Bank of America lowered Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $42.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley downgraded Freeport-McMoRan from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $54.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Wednesday. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $56.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.00.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Down 6.1%

The business has a 50 day moving average of $43.28 and a 200-day moving average of $40.53. The stock has a market cap of $50.80 billion, a PE ratio of 26.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $7.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.85 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.37% and a net margin of 7.45%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCX. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,807 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $564,000 after buying an additional 2,882 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC grew its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 9,616 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $366,000 after buying an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 180,623 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $6,878,000 after buying an additional 22,206 shares during the last quarter. 111 Capital purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $503,000. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 14,630 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $554,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

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.