Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give Freeport‑McMoRan a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from 22 firms (16 buys, 4 holds, 2 strong buys) with an average 12‑month target price of $66.26.
• Freeport beat quarterly estimates (EPS $0.47 vs. $0.28; revenue $5.63B vs. $5.42B), analysts expect ~1.68 EPS for the year, and the stock trades near its 52‑week high (~$70) with a market cap of about $100.8B.
• Insider selling has been notable—565,145 shares (~$35.84M) sold in the past 90 days, including sales by the CFO and CAO—while institutional ownership remains high at roughly 80.77% after recent increases by Vanguard, Fisher and others.

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-two research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, sixteen have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $66.2571.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on FCX shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $72.00 to $71.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $53.50 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Tuesday, January 27th.

More Freeport-McMoRan News

Here are the key news stories impacting Freeport-McMoRan this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Earnings outlook: Analysts and research notes see the company positioned to deliver an earnings beat in the upcoming report, citing the right combination of revenue and cost factors that support higher guidance and potential upside to consensus estimates. This improves near-term fundamentals sentiment for FCX. Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) Earnings Expected to Grow: Should You Buy?
• Positive Sentiment: Market action: The stock moved higher in the latest session versus the broader market, reflecting investor buying interest alongside elevated volume — a near-term technical tailwind that reinforces momentum-driven inflows. Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) Rises Higher Than Market: Key Facts
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider selling noted: Reports show executives sold shares while the stock rallied past the $69 level. Insider sales can be interpreted many ways (portfolio diversification, taxes, or signaling), so investors should monitor the size, timing and reason disclosures before changing positions. Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) Stock Soars Past $69 While Executives Unload Shares
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst target cut: Scotiabank trimmed its price target to $71, which is mildly negative because it reduces some analyst-driven upside and could cap momentum if other firms follow. This raises some valuation risk even as fundamentals look supportive. Scotiabank Lowers Freeport-McMoRan NYSE: FCX Price Target to $71.00

Insider Buying and Selling at Freeport-McMoRan

In other news, CFO Maree E. Robertson sold 48,500 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.55, for a total transaction of $2,985,175.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 79,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,917,475.70. The trade was a 37.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 11,000 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.03, for a total transaction of $682,330.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 40,773 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,529,149.19. This trade represents a 21.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 565,145 shares of company stock worth $35,839,918 in the last 90 days. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Freeport-McMoRan

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 130,332,957 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $6,619,611,000 after acquiring an additional 1,572,769 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 63,880,757 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $3,244,504,000 after acquiring an additional 622,343 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 62,873,136 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $3,193,327,000 after acquiring an additional 395,226 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $1,897,202,000 after acquiring an additional 8,891,743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 190.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 36,494,793 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $1,431,326,000 after acquiring an additional 23,950,557 shares in the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

NYSE:FCX opened at $70.11 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $62.20 and its 200-day moving average is $52.86. Freeport-McMoRan has a 52-week low of $32.12 and a 52-week high of $70.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 2.29. The company has a market cap of $100.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.43, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.48.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.19. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The company had revenue of $5.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.31 EPS. The business's revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Freeport-McMoRan's payout ratio is presently 19.87%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.