Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $47.94, but opened at $50.00. Freeport-McMoRan shares last traded at $48.29, with a volume of 1,600,748 shares.

The natural resource company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.83% and a return on equity of 7.60%. The business had revenue of $6.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.39 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is 26.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on FCX. StockNews.com downgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Raymond James raised their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.92.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 22.0% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 72,896,288 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $3,427,583,000 after acquiring an additional 13,143,562 shares during the period. Capital International Investors acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 1st quarter valued at about $417,752,000. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 40.9% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 15,155,256 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $712,600,000 after purchasing an additional 4,396,309 shares during the period. Asia Research & Capital Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the first quarter valued at approximately $197,966,000. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the first quarter worth approximately $162,464,000. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $45.48 and a 200-day moving average of $47.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 2.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.90.

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.