Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Receives $58.40 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) have received an average rating of “Buy” from the twenty-two analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, sixteen have given a buy recommendation and three have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $58.40.

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $68.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Monday, January 5th. HSBC lifted their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. CICC Research increased their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $50.40 to $64.40 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Clarkson Capital raised Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

FCX stock opened at $61.82 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $88.77 billion, a PE ratio of 40.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $53.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.97. Freeport-McMoRan has a 12-month low of $27.66 and a 12-month high of $69.44.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.19. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 8.50%.The company had revenue of $5.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.42 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.31 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 15th were given a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is 19.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 28,423 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 105,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,053,059.06. This trade represents a 21.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 38,761 shares in the company, valued at $1,847,349.26. This represents a 19.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 22,671 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,151,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 48.2% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,519 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $534,000 after purchasing an additional 3,421 shares in the last quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter worth approximately $241,000. Community Bank N.A. raised its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 44,515 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $2,261,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 62.4% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 28,679 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,457,000 after buying an additional 11,017 shares during the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.