Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX)

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Traders acquired 87,555 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 49% compared to the average daily volume of 58,600 call options.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

FCX stock traded up $4.40 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $75.62. 16,144,641 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,989,406. Freeport-McMoRan has a 12 month low of $35.15 and a 12 month high of $77.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.33.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.12. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 10.63%. The company had revenue of $7.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.62 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th were paid a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FCX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. HSBC raised their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $72.00 to $75.00 in a report on Friday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.27.

Insider Transactions at Freeport-McMoRan

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 14,277 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total transaction of $992,251.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 54,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,795,951. This represents a 20.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 4,773 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $334,110.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 36,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,520,000. This represents a 11.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 26,600 shares of company stock valued at $1,802,012. 0.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,807 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $564,000 after acquiring an additional 2,882 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 9,616 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $560,000. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 27.0% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 12,443 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $539,000 after purchasing an additional 2,648 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 42.7% in the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 50,114 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $2,172,000 after purchasing an additional 14,992 shares during the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Company Profile

Freeport-McMoRan Inc is a U.S.-based natural resources company primarily engaged in the exploration, mining and processing of copper, gold and molybdenum. Its operations encompass large-scale open-pit and underground mining as well as associated concentrator and milling facilities. The company produces copper in the form of concentrates and cathodes, and also recovers gold and molybdenum as co-products; its business model includes exploration, development, mining, beneficiation and the sale of bulk commodities to smelters and industrial customers.

Freeport-McMoRan conducts operations and development activities across multiple geographies, with substantial assets in the Americas and Indonesia.