Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and three have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $50.71.

Several analysts recently weighed in on FCX shares. Morgan Stanley cut Freeport-McMoRan from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $54.00 in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Canada upgraded Freeport-McMoRan to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $56.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $42.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $56.00 price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of FCX opened at $43.98 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $41.53 and its 200-day moving average is $38.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.21 billion, a PE ratio of 36.35, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.64. Freeport-McMoRan has a fifty-two week low of $27.66 and a fifty-two week high of $52.61.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The natural resource company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.36 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.11% and a return on equity of 7.03%. Freeport-McMoRan’s quarterly revenue was down 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Freeport-McMoRan

In related news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 8,584 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.02, for a total value of $343,531.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 48,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,934,286.66. This represents a 15.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Freeport-McMoRan

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 833 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. City Holding Co. bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the first quarter worth $33,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Dagco Inc. bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 1st quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

About Freeport-McMoRan

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.