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

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $48.27.

FCX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Dbs Bank raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Scotiabank raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $43.00 to $48.00 in a report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $47.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of FCX opened at $40.18 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $38.28 and a 200-day moving average of $38.16. Freeport-McMoRan has a one year low of $27.66 and a one year high of $52.61. The company has a market cap of $57.74 billion, a PE ratio of 33.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The natural resource company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.01. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.11% and a return on equity of 7.03%. The company had revenue of $5.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.32 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 15th. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 8,584 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.02, for a total value of $343,531.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 48,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,934,286.66. The trade was a 15.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Hawaiian Bank grew its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 30,192 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $1,143,000 after purchasing an additional 1,442 shares during the last quarter. Drummond Knight Asset Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $41,437,000. Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 146,029 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $5,529,000 after purchasing an additional 10,176 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $23,631,000. Finally, GK Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $235,000. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Freeport-McMoRan Company Profile

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.

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