Brokerages Set Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) PT at $48.09

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $48.09.

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $47.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $52.00 price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Dbs Bank raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

FCX stock traded up $0.63 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $37.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,763,600 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,717,734. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company's 50 day moving average is $36.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.39. Freeport-McMoRan has a fifty-two week low of $27.66 and a fifty-two week high of $55.24. The stock has a market cap of $54.59 billion, a PE ratio of 29.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.65.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The natural resource company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.01. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.50% and a net margin of 7.42%. The business had revenue of $5.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.36 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.32 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 15th. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.79%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 487.8% during the fourth quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 723 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.