Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. Purchases 1,617 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 68.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,970 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after buying an additional 1,617 shares during the period. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $198,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Syon Capital LLC grew its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 33.2% in the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 11,289 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 2,815 shares during the period. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter worth $77,000. Leo Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter worth $289,000. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 53.1% in the fourth quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 72,206 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $3,074,000 after purchasing an additional 25,056 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of FCX stock opened at $50.03 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $71.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 2.40. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.83 and a 52 week high of $55.24. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $44.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.87.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $6.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.83% and a return on equity of 7.60%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.35 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is 22.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $55.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.00.

Freeport-McMoRan 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.