Verus Capital Partners LLC Decreases Stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Verus Capital Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 14.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,609 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 7,510 shares during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $1,661,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 487.8% during the 4th quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 723 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 46.8% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 740 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter valued at about $46,000. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE FCX opened at $37.35 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market cap of $53.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.85. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52 week low of $34.89 and a 52 week high of $55.24. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.62.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.05). Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.50% and a net margin of 7.42%. Research analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Argus downgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $51.00 to $46.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.04.

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.