Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FCX) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.07 on August 3rd

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be given a dividend of 0.075 per share by the natural resource company on Monday, August 3rd. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 15th.

Freeport-McMoRan has raised its dividend by an average of 0.6%per year over the last three years. Freeport-McMoRan has a dividend payout ratio of 13.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Freeport-McMoRan to earn $3.50 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.30 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 8.6%.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 1.5%

FCX opened at $62.79 on Friday. Freeport-McMoRan has a 52 week low of $35.15 and a 52 week high of $72.28. The company has a market capitalization of $90.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.40, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $64.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.10. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 10.34%.The firm had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.24 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FCX. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $66.00 price target (down from $70.00) on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Friday, April 24th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $71.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Barclays began coverage on Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $77.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.27.

About Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Inc is a U.S.-based natural resources company primarily engaged in the exploration, mining and processing of copper, gold and molybdenum. Its operations encompass large-scale open-pit and underground mining as well as associated concentrator and milling facilities. The company produces copper in the form of concentrates and cathodes, and also recovers gold and molybdenum as co-products; its business model includes exploration, development, mining, beneficiation and the sale of bulk commodities to smelters and industrial customers.

Freeport-McMoRan conducts operations and development activities across multiple geographies, with substantial assets in the Americas and Indonesia.