Renaissance Technologies LLC Acquires New Shares in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 826,291 shares of the natural resource company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,158,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Freeport-McMoRan as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 22.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 72,896,288 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $3,427,583,000 after buying an additional 13,143,562 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the first quarter valued at about $417,752,000. Capital World Investors grew its position 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 last quarter. Asia Research & Capital Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 1st quarter worth approximately $197,966,000. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 1st quarter worth approximately $162,464,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

FCX stock opened at $43.92 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $63.09 billion, a PE ratio of 38.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $43.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.09. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.83 and a 12-month high of $55.24.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.07. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.60% and a net margin of 7.83%. The business had revenue of $6.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.35 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. 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. Raymond James dropped their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $54.00 to $55.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.07.

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.