Mathes Company Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Mathes Company Inc. lowered its stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 14.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,300 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 750 shares during the period. Mathes Company Inc.’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $215,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the second quarter worth $26,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FCX. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $55.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.00.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock traded up $0.57 on Friday, reaching $45.59. 7,733,517 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,953,824. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.83 and a 52 week high of $55.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 2.33. The company has a market capitalization of $65.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.90. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $46.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.67.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 7.81%. The company had revenue of $6.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were given a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.90%.

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.