Aigen Investment Management LP Acquires Stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)

Aigen Investment Management LP has recently acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, as per its latest disclosure to the SEC. The investment fund purchased 39,154 shares valued at approximately $1,491,000, marking a significant move into the natural resource sector.

In addition to Aigen Investment Management, several other institutional investors have made noteworthy adjustments to their holdings in Freeport-McMoRan. For instance, Mountaineer Partners Management LLC saw a remarkable increase in their stake by 4,767.8% in the third quarter, now owning 11,933,126 shares worth $595,702,000 after acquiring an additional 11,687,982 shares. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. also increased its holdings in the company by 142.5% in the fourth quarter, owning 4,279,517 shares valued at $162,964,000 following the purchase of 2,515,103 extra shares.

Additionally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 9.5% during the third quarter, owning 27,310,294 shares valued at $1,348,522,000 after acquiring 2,366,187 shares. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC expanded its holdings by 423.5% in the same quarter, now owning 2,788,111 shares worth $139,183,000 after purchasing 2,255,529 shares. Lastly, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position by 2.4%, owning 59,409,395 shares valued at $2,965,717,000 after acquiring 1,392,494 shares. Currently, institutional investors hold approximately 80.77% of Freeport-McMoRan's stock.

Performance of Freeport-McMoRan Stock

As for the stock performance, Freeport-McMoRan shares opened at $34.93. Over the past year, the shares have reached a low of $34.26 and a high of $55.24. The company's financials show a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.42, and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The 50-day moving average is $38.23, while the 200-day moving average stands at $42.54. Freeport-McMoRan boasts a market capitalization of $50.20 billion and a price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of 27.08, alongside a price-to-earnings-growth (PEG) ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.85.

Recently, the company released its quarterly earnings data on January 23rd. It reported earnings of $0.31 per share for the quarter, which fell short of analysts' expectations of $0.36 by $0.05. The company reported a net margin of 7.42% and a return on equity of 7.50%. Analysts are predicting Freeport-McMoRan will post an earnings per share of 1.68 for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Recommendations

Recently, various brokerages have analyzed Freeport-McMoRan's stock. Argus downgraded the stock from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating on January 31st. BMO Capital Markets adjusted their price target from $54.00 to $50.00 while maintaining an "outperform" rating on January 24th. Furthermore, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their rating from "outperform" to "market perform" and reduced their price target from $51.00 to $46.00 on January 7th. Scotiabank also cut their target price from $48.00 to $45.00, suggesting a "sector perform" rating. Conversely, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating, increasing their price target from $40.00 to $48.00 on February 27th. Overall, there are eight analysts who have rated the stock as holding, seven have a buy outlook, and one considers it a strong buy, resulting in an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus price target of $52.04.

About Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. engages in mining mineral properties across North America, South America, and Indonesia. The company primarily explores for copper, gold, molybdenum, silver, and other metals. Its assets include the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia, as well as several mines in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Peru, and Chile.

Investment, Stock, Management