Freedom Capital Upgrades Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) to “Strong-Buy”

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Freedom Capital from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Saturday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on FCX. Argus raised Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $70.00 price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.73.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 1.8%

Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $65.51 on Friday. Freeport-McMoRan has a 52 week low of $27.66 and a 52 week high of $69.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 2.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.16 billion, a PE ratio of 43.39, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.47. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $57.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.86.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $5.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.42 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 8.50%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.31 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Freeport-McMoRan

In related news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.03, for a total value of $682,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 40,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,529,149.19. This represents a 21.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Richard C. Adkerson sold 248,031 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.80, for a total value of $15,576,346.80. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 3,509,119 shares in the company, valued at $220,372,673.20. The trade was a 6.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 573,486 shares of company stock valued at $35,791,937. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Freeport-McMoRan

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1,962.9% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 722 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 687 shares in the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

About Freeport-McMoRan

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.