Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Stock Price Up 1.3% After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) shot up 1.3% during trading on Friday after BNP Paribas Exane raised their price target on the stock from $56.00 to $75.00. BNP Paribas Exane currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Freeport-McMoRan traded as high as $63.35 and last traded at $62.8220. 14,359,075 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 39% from the average session volume of 23,453,617 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.04.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. CICC Research boosted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $50.40 to $64.40 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $68.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Monday, January 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $70.00 target price on Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, HSBC upped their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.26.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 28,423 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.99, for a total value of $1,364,019.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 105,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,053,059.06. The trade was a 21.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 9,572 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.66, for a total value of $456,201.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 38,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,847,349.26. The trade was a 19.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 513,986 shares of company stock worth $32,124,432 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: BNP Paribas Exane raised its price target on FCX to $75 (from $56) and kept an “outperform” rating — a sizeable lift to upside expectations. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Argus upgraded FCX from “hold” to “buy,” reinforcing buy-side momentum and contributing to short‑term demand. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Other broker actions (Stifel raised its target to $76; UBS, Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley have recently lifted targets) add to the analyst-driven narrative supporting higher valuations. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks and other research outlets highlight rising earnings-estimate revisions and momentum characteristics for FCX, which can justify multiple expansion if commodity prices and volumes cooperate. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Increased media and analyst attention (multiple Zacks pieces, MSN/Yahoo coverage) is amplifying flows into FCX but is informational rather than a direct operational catalyst. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Grasberg production setbacks materially reduced Q4 copper/gold volumes, a real operational headwind that can limit near-term revenue despite stronger prices. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider sales: Chairman Richard Adkerson disclosed multi-hundred-thousand‑share disposals (Feb. 10–11 filings) totaling tens of millions of dollars — these trades can sap sentiment even if explained by diversification or tax planning. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: EVP Douglas Currault II sold 75,000 shares (~$4.8M); insider selling at the executive level is a nearer-term negative for perception of internal conviction. Read More.

Institutional Trading of Freeport-McMoRan

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 1,962.9% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 722 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 687 shares during the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $55.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.21 billion, a PE ratio of 41.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.47.

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

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 15th were issued a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.