Old West Investment Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Old West Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 67,833 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after buying an additional 5,853 shares during the period. Freeport-McMoRan accounts for about 1.0% of Old West Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Old West Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $2,583,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 487.8% in the 4th quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 723 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Down 13.0 %

FCX stock opened at $29.14 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $37.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.74. The stock has a market cap of $41.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.59, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.49 and a twelve month high of $55.24.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.05). Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.50% and a net margin of 7.42%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is 23.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on FCX. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Argus cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.61.

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.