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

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on Freeport-McMoRan, with 19 buy ratings, three holds and one strong buy among 23 firms. The average 12-month price target is $70.27.
• FCX shares opened at $71.18, near their 52-week high of $72.28, after the company reported quarterly earnings of $0.74 per share, beating estimates of $0.62, while revenue reached $7.03 billion.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.075 per share, equivalent to an annualized $0.30 and a 0.4% yield. Recent insider activity was negative, with executives selling 26,600 shares worth about $1.8 million over 90 days.

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-three ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $70.2682.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.50 to $58.50 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Barclays upped their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $74.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of NYSE FCX opened at $71.18 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $102.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.37. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.33. Freeport-McMoRan has a 1 year low of $35.15 and a 1 year high of $72.28.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $7.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 10.63% and a net margin of 11.39%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.54 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th were issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 15th. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.78%.

Insider Activity

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 4,773 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $334,110.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 36,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,520,000. The trade was a 11.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 14,277 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $992,251.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 54,618 shares in the company, valued at $3,795,951. This represents a 20.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 26,600 shares of company stock valued at $1,802,012. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 34.5% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,062,916 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $62,478,000 after buying an additional 272,726 shares during the last quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter worth approximately $8,857,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 37,353,852 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $1,897,202,000 after buying an additional 8,891,743 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 205.4% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 317,429 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $16,122,000 after buying an additional 213,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Applied Finance Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $868,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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