Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Coverage Initiated at Erste Group Bank

Key Points

• Erste Group Bank initiated coverage of Freeport-McMoRan with a “buy” rating. The broader analyst consensus is “Moderate Buy,” with 21 buy or strong-buy ratings and an average price target of $70.27.
• FCX shares rose 0.4% to $79.29, near their 52-week high of $80.24. The company’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, reporting adjusted earnings of $0.74 per share versus the $0.62 consensus and revenue of $7.03 billion.
• Insiders have recently sold shares worth approximately $8.1 million over three months, while institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the stock.

Stock analysts at Erste Group Bank initiated coverage on shares of Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) in a report issued on Thursday. The brokerage set a "buy" rating on the natural resource company's stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. HSBC lifted their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $72.00 to $75.00 in a report on Friday, June 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $71.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $70.27.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Up 0.4%

FCX traded up $0.29 on Thursday, hitting $79.29. The company had a trading volume of 4,800,129 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,032,326. Freeport-McMoRan has a 52-week low of $35.15 and a 52-week high of $80.24. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.37.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $7.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.62 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 10.63% and a net margin of 11.39%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan will post 2.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 4,773 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $334,110.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 36,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,520,000. This represents a 11.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 80,000 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.56, for a total transaction of $6,284,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 211,016 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,577,416.96. This trade represents a 27.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 106,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,086,812. 0.73% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 6,434.3% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 142,181,964 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $8,941,824,000 after acquiring an additional 140,006,047 shares during the period. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the second quarter worth $739,890,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 98.8% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 19,973,108 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $1,014,434,000 after acquiring an additional 9,924,573 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 37,353,852 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $1,897,202,000 after purchasing an additional 8,891,743 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 102.5% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 14,211,579 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $721,806,000 after buying an additional 7,192,955 shares in the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Freeport-McMoRan Company Profile

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.

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