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

Key Points

• Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from 24 ratings firms, with 15 buy ratings and an average 12-month price target of $46.92.
• The company reported an EPS of $0.50 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and showcased a revenue of $6.97 billion, a 2.7% increase from the previous year.
• Freeport-McMoRan is set to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.15 on November 3rd, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.5%.

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-four ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $46.9190.

FCX has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $42.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Dbs Bank cut their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $51.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of FCX stock opened at $41.34 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Freeport-McMoRan has a twelve month low of $27.66 and a twelve month high of $49.21. The company has a market cap of $59.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.97.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.74 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.97% and a return on equity of 7.84%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 15th. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.73%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 1,962.9% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 722 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 687 shares during the last quarter. Dagco Inc. bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 1st quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 59.6% during the 2nd quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 876 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.