World Investment Advisors LLC Takes Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 4,932 shares of the natural resource company’s stock, valued at approximately $246,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1,170.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 521 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the period. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 261.3% during the 2nd quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 589 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares during the period. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of FCX opened at $38.24 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $54.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.33 and a quick ratio of 1.30. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1 year low of $36.26 and a 1 year high of $55.24. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.83.

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

Freeport-McMoRan Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This is an increase from Freeport-McMoRan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is currently 21.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on FCX shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Raymond James upped their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan 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.