Argent Trust Co Purchases 3,031 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Argent Trust Co boosted its position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,937 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,031 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $1,941,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 1,170.7% during the second quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 521 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the second quarter worth about $25,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 422.2% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 658 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $43.92 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.09. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.83 and a 52-week high of $55.24. The firm has a market cap of $63.09 billion, a PE ratio of 38.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.89. 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 (NYSE:FCX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 7.60% and a net margin of 7.83%. Freeport-McMoRan’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.35 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is 26.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FCX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley raised Freeport-McMoRan from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $49.50 to $62.00 in a research report on Friday, June 21st. UBS Group raised Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. BNP Paribas raised Freeport-McMoRan to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.07.

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.