Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Price Target Cut to $68.00 by Analysts at Freedom Broker

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) had its price objective decreased by Freedom Broker from $75.00 to $68.00 in a research report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the natural resource company’s stock. Freedom Broker‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 8.90% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on FCX. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 19th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.30.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $62.44 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.67 billion, a PE ratio of 26.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.38. Freeport-McMoRan has a one year low of $38.54 and a one year high of $80.24. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $71.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 2.02.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The natural resource company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $7.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.36 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 13.03% and a return on equity of 12.09%. Freeport-McMoRan’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan will post 3.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Freeport-McMoRan

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, Director Lydia H. Kennard sold 3,798 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.11, for a total transaction of $300,459.78. Following the sale, the director directly owned 122,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,706,955.22. This represents a 3.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 4,773 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $334,110.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 36,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,520,000. This trade represents a 11.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 102,848 shares of company stock valued at $7,911,621. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 34.5% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,062,916 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $62,478,000 after purchasing an additional 272,726 shares in the last quarter. Iowa State Bank boosted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 50.7% during the 3rd quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 50,144 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $3,510,000 after acquiring an additional 16,868 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,687,524 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $169,018,000 after acquiring an additional 117,888 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 9,970,872 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $627,068,000 after acquiring an additional 141,738 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 17.1% during the 2nd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,249,858 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $78,604,000 after acquiring an additional 182,714 shares during the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Freeport-McMoRan Company Profile

Freeport-McMoRan Inc (NYSE: FCX) is a global mining company primarily engaged in the exploration, development, and production of copper. Copper is used extensively in electrical wiring, construction, transportation, renewable energy systems, and other industrial applications. The company also produces gold and molybdenum, a metal used in steelmaking and other industrial processes, as well as certain other byproducts.

Freeport-McMoRan operates a portfolio of mining and processing assets in North America, South America, and Indonesia.