Citigroup Lowers Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Price Target to $66.00

Key Points

• Citigroup cut its price target on Freeport‑McMoRan to $66 (from $67), implying roughly a 16.5% upside from the prior close.
• The stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average analyst target of $65.14, as multiple firms (Wells Fargo, Goldman, Scotiabank, Stifel) recently updated targets ranging roughly from $67 to $76.
• Freeport beat the quarter with EPS of $0.57 versus $0.47 expected and revenue of $6.23B versus $5.73B, while shares trade near $56.64 and the company has a market cap of about $81.4B.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by equities research analysts at Citigroup from $67.00 to $66.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,MarketScreener reports. Citigroup's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 16.53% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on FCX. Freedom Capital raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $77.00 to $68.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.14.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of FCX opened at $56.64 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The business's 50 day moving average price is $62.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.24. Freeport-McMoRan has a 52 week low of $35.15 and a 52 week high of $70.96. The stock has a market cap of $81.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.32.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.73 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 10.34%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.24 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 75,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.52, for a total transaction of $4,839,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 219,181 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,141,558.12. The trade was a 25.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Richard C. Adkerson sold 248,031 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.80, for a total transaction of $15,576,346.80. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 3,509,119 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $220,372,673.20. This represents a 6.60% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 565,145 shares of company stock valued at $35,839,918 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Freeport-McMoRan

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FCX. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,807 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $564,000 after acquiring an additional 2,882 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC grew its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 9,616 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $366,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 2nd quarter valued at about $560,000. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 27.0% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 12,443 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $539,000 after acquiring an additional 2,648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC grew its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 42.7% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 50,114 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $2,172,000 after acquiring an additional 14,992 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company's stock.

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.

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