L & S Advisors Inc Buys New Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

L & S Advisors Inc bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 196,648 shares of the natural resource company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,817,000. Freeport-McMoRan accounts for approximately 1.0% of L & S Advisors Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised 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 valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of FCX opened at $43.85 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $46.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 2.33. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.04 and a 52-week high of $55.24. The company has a market cap of $63.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.90, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.91.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $6.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.45 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 7.81%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.39 EPS. Analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were paid a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on FCX. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Scotiabank cut their target price on 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. Raymond James raised their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock 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 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Six 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

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.