Candriam S.C.A. Buys 112,880 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Candriam S.C.A. increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 109.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 216,124 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after acquiring an additional 112,880 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $8,230,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 46.8% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 740 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $36.97 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $38.10 and a 200-day moving average of $42.42. The firm has a market cap of $53.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.87. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1-year low of $34.26 and a 1-year high of $55.24.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.05). Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.50% and a net margin of 7.42%. Sell-side analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FCX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $47.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $51.00 to $46.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Argus cut Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.75.

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.