Scotiabank Lowers Earnings Estimates for Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) – Equities researchers at Scotiabank dropped their FY2027 EPS estimates for shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a note issued to investors on Friday, May 1st. Scotiabank analyst O. Wowkodaw now expects that the natural resource company will post earnings per share of $2.05 for the year, down from their prior forecast of $2.44. Scotiabank currently has a “Sector Perform” rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Freeport-McMoRan’s current full-year earnings is $2.52 per share.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.73 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.24 earnings per share.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on FCX. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.14.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

NYSE:FCX opened at $55.55 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Freeport-McMoRan has a 52 week low of $35.15 and a 52 week high of $70.96. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $62.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.84 billion, a PE ratio of 29.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.32.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 15th were issued a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is 15.96%.

Insider Transactions at Freeport-McMoRan

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.52, for a total transaction of $4,839,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 219,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,141,558.12. This represents a 25.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.03, for a total value of $682,330.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 40,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,529,149.19. The trade was a 21.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 565,145 shares of company stock worth $35,839,918. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of FCX. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 1,962.9% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 722 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 687 shares during the period. Steph & Co. raised its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 43.7% in the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 493 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.