Allstate Corp Purchases New Stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Allstate Corp bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 52,810 shares of the natural resource company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,071,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,807 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 2,882 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $366,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 2nd quarter valued at about $560,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 10.1% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 246,739 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $11,301,000 after acquiring an additional 22,671 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co grew its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 7.7% in the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 6,931 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares during the period. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of FCX stock opened at $60.05 on Wednesday. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12-month low of $27.66 and a 12-month high of $60.71. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $48.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.45.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.09. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.84% and a net margin of 7.97%.The company had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.38 EPS. Freeport-McMoRan’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is currently 21.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $47.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Clarkson Capital raised Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $46.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Johnson Rice reduced their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $48.00 in a report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Dbs Bank dropped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $51.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.30.

Insider Transactions at Freeport-McMoRan

In related news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 28,423 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.99, for a total value of $1,364,019.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 105,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,053,059.06. This trade represents a 21.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 9,572 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.66, for a total value of $456,201.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 38,761 shares in the company, valued at $1,847,349.26. This represents a 19.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Freeport-McMoRan Company Profile

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.