Strong Tower Advisory Services Increases Stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Strong Tower Advisory Services increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 85.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 202,663 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after purchasing an additional 93,268 shares during the period. Freeport-McMoRan makes up about 1.8% of Strong Tower Advisory Services’ holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Strong Tower Advisory Services’ holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $7,673,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $38.46 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The company has a 50-day moving average of $36.27 and a 200 day moving average of $38.38. The firm has a market cap of $55.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.81, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.65. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.66 and a 1 year high of $53.15.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The natural resource company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.36 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.42% and a return on equity of 7.50%. Freeport-McMoRan’s quarterly revenue was down 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.32 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FCX has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target (up previously from $48.00) on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Dbs Bank raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.36.

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.