Avestar Capital LLC Increases Stock Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Avestar Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,916 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,569 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $545,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1,170.7% in the second quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 521 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the second quarter worth $26,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the first quarter valued at $26,000. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $43.48 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.33 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market cap of $62.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $46.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.05. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1 year low of $36.04 and a 1 year high of $55.24.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $6.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.45 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 7.81%. Freeport-McMoRan’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.39 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on FCX shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $55.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan currently has an average 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.