Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FCX) - What Are Analysts Saying About This Stock?

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: 20 of 25 brokerages rate Freeport-McMoRan a buy, one rates it a strong buy, and four recommend holding; the average 12-month price target is $75.30.
• Recent analyst target changes were mixed: RBC raised its target to $85 while maintaining a sector-perform rating, whereas Wells Fargo cut its target to $79 and JPMorgan lowered its target to $90; both retained overweight ratings.
• Freeport-McMoRan beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.88 earnings per share and $7.55 billion in revenue, with revenue up 8.2% year over year.

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-five brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $75.30.

FCX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $73.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $87.00 to $79.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Erste Group Bank started coverage on Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 80,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.56, for a total value 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. The trade was a 27.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Lydia H. Kennard sold 3,798 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.11, for a total value of $300,459.78. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 122,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,706,955.22. This represents a 3.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FCX. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,485,424 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $4,181,268,000 after buying an additional 2,300,416 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 20.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 42,345,502 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $2,489,069,000 after acquiring an additional 7,044,775 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 13.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,918,066 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $938,197,000 after acquiring an additional 1,810,698 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 11,819,898 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $743,353,000 after acquiring an additional 1,125,982 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 2nd quarter valued at about $739,890,000. 80.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

NYSE:FCX opened at $61.77 on Wednesday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $71.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.26. Freeport-McMoRan has a twelve month low of $38.54 and a twelve month high of $80.24. The stock has a market cap of $88.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.95, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The natural resource company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $7.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.36 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 13.03%. Freeport-McMoRan's revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan will post 3.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 15th were given a dividend of $0.0750 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio is 12.61%.

About Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Inc NYSE: FCX is a global mining company primarily engaged in the exploration, development, and production of copper. Copper is used extensively in electrical wiring, construction, transportation, renewable energy systems, and other industrial applications. The company also produces gold and molybdenum, a metal used in steelmaking and other industrial processes, as well as certain other byproducts.

Freeport-McMoRan operates a portfolio of mining and processing assets in North America, South America, and Indonesia.

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