Washburn Capital Management Inc. Lowers Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Washburn Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 17.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,170 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 1,995 shares during the quarter. Washburn Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $458,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,217 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $386,000 after acquiring an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 57.8% during the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 9,709 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $457,000 after purchasing an additional 3,557 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 157,645 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $7,412,000 after acquiring an additional 4,547 shares in the last quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. grew its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 101.5% in the first quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 9,975 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $469,000 after purchasing an additional 5,025 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 6,065 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

NYSE FCX traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $46.81. 779,378 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,008,849. The company has a market capitalization of $67.26 billion, a PE ratio of 34.01, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.33 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.83 and a 52-week high of $55.24. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $45.99 and its 200-day moving average is $47.78.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 7.81%. The company had revenue of $6.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.39 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on FCX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report 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. Scotiabank lowered 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan currently has a consensus 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.