Candriam S.C.A. Buys 202,568 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Candriam S.C.A. lifted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 84.3% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 442,965 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after acquiring an additional 202,568 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $19,203,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dagco Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Beacon Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 59.6% during the second quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 876 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. CKW Financial Group bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 1st quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 2nd quarter worth about $43,000. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

NYSE:FCX opened at $40.56 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.66 and a 1 year high of $49.12. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $41.74 and a 200-day moving average of $41.71.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.09. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.84% and a net margin of 7.97%.The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.74 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.38 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 15th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is 21.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FCX. Citigroup raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $48.50 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.01.

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.