Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 19.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 143,895 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,818 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $7,183,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of FCX. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its position in 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 valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Matrix Trust Co bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. 80.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

FCX opened at $43.60 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market cap of $62.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.83, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.91. The company’s 50 day moving average is $46.51 and its 200 day moving average is $47.49. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.38 and a 12-month high of $55.24.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.81% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The company had revenue of $6.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.51 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on FCX. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.00.

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.