Ted Buchan & Co Makes New Investment in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Ted Buchan & Co purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 12,479 shares of the natural resource company’s stock, valued at approximately $607,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1,170.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 521 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 261.3% during the 2nd quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 589 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 426 shares in the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $49.92 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $43.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.83 and a 52-week high of $55.24. The company has a market cap of $71.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.18, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.89.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 7.83% and a return on equity of 7.60%. The firm had revenue of $6.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.35 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is currently 26.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on FCX shares. 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. Scotiabank lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $52.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.93.

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.