Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Acquires New Shares in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 19,801 shares of the natural resource company’s stock, valued at approximately $734,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 487.8% in the fourth quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 723 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 150.4% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 576 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 46.8% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 740 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Down 2.4 %

Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $35.80 on Wednesday. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.46 and a fifty-two week high of $55.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.45 billion, a PE ratio of 26.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.87. The company’s 50-day moving average is $40.51 and its 200-day moving average is $43.64. 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 (NYSE:FCX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.05). Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.81% and a return on equity of 7.40%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $48.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Raymond James boosted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Scotiabank decreased 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 note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $51.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.