Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Price Target Raised to $85.00 at Royal Bank Of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada raised Freeport-McMoRan’s price target to $85 from $73 while maintaining a “sector perform” rating, implying approximately 21.8% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: Freeport-McMoRan has an overall “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $70.29, with 20 analysts rating it a Buy.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.74 in earnings per share versus the $0.62 consensus estimate and $7.03 billion in revenue versus $6.62 billion expected, though revenue declined 7.3% year over year.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by equities researchers at Royal Bank Of Canada from $73.00 to $85.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "sector perform" rating on the natural resource company's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's price target would indicate a potential upside of 21.79% from the stock's previous close.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank increased their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $67.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $71.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $78.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.29.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

NYSE:FCX traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $69.79. The stock had a trading volume of 4,284,766 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,733,951. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.37, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.41. Freeport-McMoRan has a 1-year low of $35.15 and a 1-year high of $80.24. 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's fifty day simple moving average is $67.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.76.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $7.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 10.63%. The business's revenue was down 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.54 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan will post 2.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 211,016 shares in the company, valued at $16,577,416.96. This trade represents a 27.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 4,773 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $334,110.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 36,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,520,000. The trade was a 11.71% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 110,398 shares of company stock valued at $8,387,271 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 2,011 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Steph & Co. grew its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 43.7% during the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 493 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 11.6% during the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,539 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Essex Bank increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.2% during the first quarter. Essex Bank now owns 14,104 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $829,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 2.6% during the second quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 6,788 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company's stock.

About Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Inc is a global mining company focused primarily on the exploration, development and production of copper, gold and molybdenum. Copper is its principal product and is used in electrical wiring, construction, transportation, industrial equipment and renewable-energy technologies. The company also produces gold as a byproduct of its copper operations and molybdenum, an alloying metal used in steelmaking and other industrial applications.

Freeport-McMoRan operates major mining and processing assets in North America, South America and Indonesia.

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