Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Trading 3.4% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)’s share price traded up 3.4% during trading on Wednesday after Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on the stock from $52.00 to $76.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Freeport-McMoRan traded as high as $65.50 and last traded at $65.41. 15,469,652 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 35% from the average session volume of 23,776,143 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.26.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Monday, January 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Clarkson Capital upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $46.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley set a $70.00 price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.35.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 75,000 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.52, for a total value of $4,839,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 219,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,141,558.12. This trade represents a 25.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 28,423 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 105,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,053,059.06. The trade was a 21.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 513,986 shares of company stock valued at $32,124,432 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Freeport-McMoRan this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Stifel Nicolaus raised its price target on FCX from $52 to $76 and kept a “buy” rating, implying additional upside and lending broker confidence to the stock. BayStreet.CA
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks reports that earnings estimate revisions for Freeport have trended higher (surging estimates), suggesting upward earnings momentum that can justify higher multiples and support near-term share gains. Surging Earnings Estimates Signal Upside
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple Zacks pieces and sector comparisons are increasing investor attention on FCX (coverage on relative performance, value thesis and peer comparisons). This broader visibility can amplify moves but is informational rather than a direct catalyst. FCX Attracting Investor Attention
• Negative Sentiment: Chairman Richard C. Adkerson sold 152,960 shares on Feb. 11 at an average ~$64.65 (≈$9.9M). Large insider sales can pressure sentiment despite company fundamentals; the filing is available on the SEC site. Adkerson Feb 11 SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Chairman Richard C. Adkerson also sold 248,031 shares on Feb. 10 at an average ~$62.80 (≈$15.6M), a separate large disposition disclosed in SEC filings. Adkerson Feb 10 SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 75,000 shares on Feb. 11 at ~$64.52 (≈$4.84M). While meaningful in size, executives still retain large holdings, which partly mitigates long-term governance concerns. Currault Feb 11 SEC Filing

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,807 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $564,000 after acquiring an additional 2,882 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 9,616 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $366,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter valued at about $560,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 41.2% during the second quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 48,088 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $2,085,000 after buying an additional 14,033 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 111.7% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 147,117 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $6,378,000 after buying an additional 77,620 shares in the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $55.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.58. The company has a market capitalization of $93.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 2.29.

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

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 15th were issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.87%.

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.