Biltmore Wealth Management LLC Lowers Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Biltmore Wealth Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,309 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 239 shares during the period. Biltmore Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $764,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 1,170.7% in the 2nd 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 period. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the second quarter valued at $25,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on FCX shares. Scotiabank cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $52.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Raymond James upped their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.93.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE FCX traded up $0.78 on Friday, reaching $50.55. 11,510,330 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,326,417. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.83 and a 12 month high of $55.24. The company has a market cap of $72.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.73, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.90. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $44.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.69. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.46 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $6.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.35 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.55%.

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.