Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) issued its earnings results on Thursday. The natural resource company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.01, RTT News reports. The company had revenue of $5.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.36 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.42% and a return on equity of 7.50%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE FCX traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $37.25. 13,373,987 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,888,717. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.71. Freeport-McMoRan has a twelve month low of $27.66 and a twelve month high of $55.24. The business's 50-day moving average is $36.27 and its 200-day moving average is $39.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 2.42.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. Freeport-McMoRan's payout ratio is presently 24.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FCX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James increased their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $47.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Five equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Freeport-McMoRan stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 24.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,807 shares of the natural resource company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,882 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $564,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company's stock.

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.