Wealth Alliance Trims Stock Position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Wealth Alliance lessened its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 18.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,676 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 2,184 shares during the quarter. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $368,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FCX. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 487.8% in the 4th quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 723 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC raised its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 46.8% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 740 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

NYSE:FCX opened at $36.97 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $34.89 and a fifty-two week high of $55.24. The stock has a market cap of $53.12 billion, a PE ratio of 28.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.85. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.71.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.05). Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.50% and a net margin of 7.42%. Analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on FCX. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $48.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $51.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Argus cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.46.

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.