BMO Capital Markets Cuts Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Price Target to $54.00

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) had its price objective cut by BMO Capital Markets from $55.00 to $54.00 in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the natural resource company's stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on FCX. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Stifel Canada upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.00.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of FCX traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $44.87. 16,007,915 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,985,843. The stock has a market cap of $64.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.64. The stock's 50-day moving average is $42.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.98. Freeport-McMoRan has a 12 month low of $27.66 and a 12 month high of $52.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $7.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.85 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.37% and a net margin of 7.45%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors 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 1.34%. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio is 22.73%.

Insider Transactions at Freeport-McMoRan

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC raised its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 833 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. City Holding Co. bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Dagco Inc. bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.