GAMMA Investing LLC Purchases 1,815 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 21,586 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,815 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $822,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 194.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,042 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 688 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division lifted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 49,041 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,867,000 after acquiring an additional 801 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 14,167 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $539,000 after acquiring an additional 753 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,684,393 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $84,085,000 after acquiring an additional 66,699 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Syntax Research Inc. grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 16,841.3% in the third quarter. Syntax Research Inc. now owns 70,137 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $3,501,000 after acquiring an additional 69,723 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

NYSE FCX opened at $37.71 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12 month low of $36.26 and a 12 month high of $55.24. The stock has a market cap of $54.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.53, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.86. The company’s 50 day moving average is $42.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.98.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $6.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.45 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.81% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The company’s revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.39 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. This is an increase from Freeport-McMoRan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is presently 21.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.92.

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.