Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $58.72 and last traded at $57.6670, with a volume of 3648067 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $56.53.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FCX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Scotiabank upped their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $47.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. CICC Research decreased their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $51.60 to $42.30 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $68.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.73.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 3.2%

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.98. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $83.76 billion, a PE ratio of 41.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.45.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.09. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.84% and a net margin of 7.97%.The business had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Freeport-McMoRan

In related news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 28,423 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.99, for a total value of $1,364,019.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 105,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,053,059.06. This trade represents a 21.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 9,572 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.66, for a total transaction of $456,201.52. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 38,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,847,349.26. This trade represents a 19.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of FCX. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 1,962.9% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 722 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 687 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Company Profile

Freeport-McMoRan Inc is a U.S.-based natural resources company primarily engaged in the exploration, mining and processing of copper, gold and molybdenum. Its operations encompass large-scale open-pit and underground mining as well as associated concentrator and milling facilities. The company produces copper in the form of concentrates and cathodes, and also recovers gold and molybdenum as co-products; its business model includes exploration, development, mining, beneficiation and the sale of bulk commodities to smelters and industrial customers.

Freeport-McMoRan conducts operations and development activities across multiple geographies, with substantial assets in the Americas and Indonesia.