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

Key Points

• Freeport-McMoRan now has an average analyst rating of “Moderate Buy”, with 16 buy ratings, one strong buy, and five holds across 22 covering firms. The average 12-month price target is about $65.14.
• The company posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results, reporting EPS of $0.57 versus $0.47 expected and revenue of $6.23 billion versus $5.73 billion forecast. Revenue also rose 8.8% year over year.
• Freeport-McMoRan also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.075 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 0.5%. Meanwhile, insiders sold shares during the quarter, while institutional investors still hold about 80.77% of the stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-two ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $65.1381.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on FCX shares. HSBC lifted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $76.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings raised Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday. Argus raised Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of NYSE:FCX opened at $66.04 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $94.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.13, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Freeport-McMoRan has a 12-month low of $35.15 and a 12-month high of $70.96. The business's 50 day moving average is $61.52 and its 200 day moving average is $55.27.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.73 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 10.34%.Freeport-McMoRan's quarterly revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.24 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th were given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Freeport-McMoRan's payout ratio is currently 15.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 11,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.03, for a total value of $682,330.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 40,773 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,529,149.19. The trade was a 21.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 29,654 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $1,868,202.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 76,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,816,035. This represents a 27.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 89,154 shares of company stock valued at $5,535,707. Insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 7.9% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 2,011 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Steph & Co. boosted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 43.7% in the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 493 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Essex Bank boosted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 1.2% in the first quarter. Essex Bank now owns 14,104 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $829,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Leo Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Leo Wealth LLC now owns 6,838 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Finally, Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.9% in the first quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 18,674 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $1,098,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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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