K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc Raises Stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 14.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 205,298 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,865 shares during the quarter. Freeport-McMoRan makes up about 1.5% of K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $8,740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Webster Bank N. A. lifted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 6,469.2% in the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 854 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 841 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the third quarter worth about $40,000. 80.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of FCX traded up $1.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $50.48. 19,035,288 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,995,083. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.83 and a 1-year high of $52.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $72.41 billion, a PE ratio of 44.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 2.04. The business has a 50 day moving average of $44.47 and a 200 day moving average of $40.26.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.05. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 6.97% and a return on equity of 7.17%. The company had revenue of $6.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. Freeport-McMoRan’s quarterly revenue was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.58 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $44.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. HSBC increased their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $41.00 to $48.50 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.07.

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.