Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors Cuts Stock Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors cut its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 32.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,036 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 2,874 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1,170.7% during the second quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 521 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of FCX opened at $46.57 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market cap of $66.91 billion, a PE ratio of 33.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.90. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.73. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.83 and a 12-month high of $55.24.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.81% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The business had revenue of $6.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.45 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.59 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FCX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of 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 price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.00.

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.