Freeport-McMoRan Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:FCX)

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors bought 53,937 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 9% compared to the average daily volume of 49,355 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on FCX. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group raised Freeport-McMoRan from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $55.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $53.92.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FCX traded down $0.47 during trading on Thursday, hitting $38.24. 14,693,323 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,787,255. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Freeport-McMoRan has a 1-year low of $36.26 and a 1-year high of $55.24. The company has a market capitalization 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 business's 50 day moving average is $44.72 and its 200-day moving average is $45.83.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 7.81%. The firm 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. 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. This is a positive change from Freeport-McMoRan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Freeport-McMoRan's payout ratio is 21.90%.

Institutional Trading of Freeport-McMoRan

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 164,640 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $8,219,000 after purchasing an additional 14,501 shares during the last quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 137.5% during the third quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 147,735 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $7,375,000 after buying an additional 85,542 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 1,559.3% in the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 76,493 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $3,819,000 after buying an additional 71,883 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter valued at $754,000. Finally, AIA Group Ltd grew its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 92,224 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $4,604,000 after acquiring an additional 12,887 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company's stock.

About Freeport-McMoRan

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.