Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. Cuts Stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 47.0% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,883 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 1,667 shares during the period. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $82,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Dagco Inc. bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. CKW Financial Group bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 0.3%

Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $45.10 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $43.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 2.47. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a one year low of $27.66 and a one year high of $52.61. The stock has a market cap of $64.75 billion, a PE ratio of 34.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.59.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.09. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.37% and a net margin of 7.45%.The company had revenue of $7.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.85 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered Freeport-McMoRan from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $45.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Citigroup increased their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered Freeport-McMoRan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.33.

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.