Brokerages Anticipate Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Will Post Earnings of $0.86 Per Share

Brokerages predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX – Get Rating) will announce earnings of $0.86 per share for the current fiscal quarter, Zacks Investment Research reports. Fourteen analysts have issued estimates for Freeport-McMoRan’s earnings. The lowest EPS estimate is $0.73 and the highest is $0.97. Freeport-McMoRan reported earnings of $0.51 per share during the same quarter last year, which would indicate a positive year over year growth rate of 68.6%. The business is expected to announce its next earnings results before the market opens on Monday, January 1st.

On average, analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan will report full-year earnings of $3.78 per share for the current year, with EPS estimates ranging from $2.59 to $4.52. For the next fiscal year, analysts anticipate that the business will report earnings of $3.11 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $1.51 to $5.47. Zacks’ EPS averages are a mean average based on a survey of research firms that cover Freeport-McMoRan.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 26th. The natural resource company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.48 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 18.85% and a return on equity of 21.55%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 37.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share.

Several brokerages have issued reports on FCX. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $34.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 5th. Wolfe Research reduced their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 27th. Exane BNP Paribas cut Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $50.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, April 5th. Finally, BNP Paribas cut Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $50.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, April 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.80.

Shares of FCX traded up $1.07 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $48.79. The stock had a trading volume of 493,204 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,334,840. The firm has a market cap of $70.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 2.00. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $46.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 1.75. Freeport-McMoRan has a 52 week low of $30.02 and a 52 week high of $51.99.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 14th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 13th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.38%.

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CFO Kathleen L. Quirk sold 80,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.02, for a total transaction of $3,521,600.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP C Donald Whitmire, Jr. sold 44,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.44, for a total value of $1,911,360.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 164,670 shares of company stock valued at $7,002,730. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,159 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $157,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 7,447 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. People s United Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. People s United Financial Inc. now owns 27,531 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $896,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 7,024 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the period. Finally, Cabot Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Cabot Wealth Management Inc. now owns 97,461 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $4,067,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.05% of the company’s stock.

About Freeport-McMoRan (Get Rating)

Freeport-McMoRan Inc engages in the mining of mineral properties in North America, South America, and Indonesia. The company primarily explores for copper, gold, molybdenum, silver, and other metals, as well as oil and gas. Its assets include the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia; Morenci, Bagdad, Safford, Sierrita, and Miami in Arizona; Tyrone and Chino in New Mexico; and Henderson and Climax in Colorado, North America, as well as Cerro Verde in Peru and El Abra in Chile.

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