HSBC Boosts Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Price Target to $45.00

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) had its price target upped by HSBC from $39.00 to $45.00 in a research note released on Tuesday. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the natural resource company’s stock.

FCX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a sector outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $59.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $43.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and increased their price target for the company from $41.00 to $48.50 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $49.15.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FCX opened at $48.00 on Tuesday. Freeport-McMoRan has a fifty-two week low of $32.83 and a fifty-two week high of $52.42. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.14. The company has a market capitalization of $68.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 2.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 2.42.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.05. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 8.09% and a return on equity of 8.41%. The business had revenue of $6.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.62%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Iowa State Bank boosted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 45,952 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $2,161,000 after acquiring an additional 1,063 shares during the last quarter. Carderock Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 1st quarter worth $235,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 119,006 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $5,596,000 after acquiring an additional 5,690 shares during the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 1st quarter worth $226,000. Finally, United Asset Strategies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 12,900 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $607,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Company Profile

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