Scientech Research LLC Acquires Shares of 38,479 Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Scientech Research LLC acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 38,479 shares of the natural resource company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,465,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 80.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

NYSE:FCX opened at $38.01 on Friday. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12-month low of $27.66 and a 12-month high of $55.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.63 billion, a PE ratio of 29.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $36.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.95.

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

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on FCX. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $47.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Dbs Bank upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.36.

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.