Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Short Interest Update

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) saw a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 26,090,000 shares, an increase of 6.1% from the December 15th total of 24,580,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 11,020,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE:FCX traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $40.16. 3,659,167 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,567,689. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.70 billion, a PE ratio of 29.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.87. Freeport-McMoRan has a 12-month low of $36.26 and a 12-month high of $55.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 2.33. The business has a 50-day moving average of $41.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.20.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $6.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.90%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 487.8% in the fourth quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 723 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 150.4% in the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 576 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 46.8% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 740 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. 80.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on FCX shares. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $51.00 to $46.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $48.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.42.

About Freeport-McMoRan

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.