Synovus Financial Corp Increases Stock Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Synovus Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 21.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 108,235 shares of the natural resource company's stock after purchasing an additional 19,389 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp's holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $5,403,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FCX. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1,170.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 521 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 150.4% during the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 576 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FCX. Raymond James increased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group raised Freeport-McMoRan from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $55.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $53.92.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FCX traded down $0.49 on Friday, reaching $41.59. 9,669,335 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,795,497. The company has a 50-day moving average of $45.51 and a 200-day moving average of $46.20. The company has a current ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market cap of $59.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.86. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1-year low of $36.26 and a 1-year high of $55.24.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.81% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The company had revenue of $6.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.39 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th were issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.90%.

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.