Freeport-McMoRan Inc. Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.08 (NYSE:FCX)

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of 0.075 per share by the natural resource company on Friday, May 1st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th.

Freeport-McMoRan has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.6%annually over the last three years. Freeport-McMoRan has a payout ratio of 13.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Freeport-McMoRan to earn $2.16 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.30 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 13.9%.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

FCX traded up $0.64 on Wednesday, reaching $57.12. 13,956,263 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,269,570. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $61.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.09 billion, a PE ratio of 37.83, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.41. Freeport-McMoRan has a fifty-two week low of $27.66 and a fifty-two week high of $69.75.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.19. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 8.50%.The firm had revenue of $5.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.42 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.31 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 29,654 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $1,868,202.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 76,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,816,035. The trade was a 27.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.03, for a total transaction of $682,330.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 40,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,529,149.19. This represents a 21.25% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 565,145 shares of company stock worth $35,839,918 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FCX. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1,962.9% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 722 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 687 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Freeport-McMoRan

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.