Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Given "Sector Perform" Rating at Scotiabank

Key Points

• Scotiabank has reiterated its "sector perform" rating for Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) and lowered the target price from $55.00 to $45.00, suggesting a potential upside of 19.18% from the current stock price.
• Freeport-McMoRan reported $0.54 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.45, with revenues also surpassing expectations at $7.58 billion.
• Currently, Freeport-McMoRan holds a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy", with target prices ranging from $42.00 to $56.00 according to various analysts.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "sector perform" rating reiterated by stock analysts at Scotiabank in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $45.00 target price on the natural resource company's stock, down from their previous target price of $55.00. Scotiabank's price objective points to a potential upside of 19.18% from the stock's previous close.

FCX has been the subject of several other reports. Stifel Canada upgraded Freeport-McMoRan to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America downgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $42.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $49.27.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FCX opened at $37.76 on Thursday. Freeport-McMoRan has a 1-year low of $27.66 and a 1-year high of $52.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $43.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.52. The company has a market capitalization of $54.21 billion, a PE ratio of 28.61, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.59.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.09. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.37% and a net margin of 7.45%.The company had revenue of $7.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.85 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. Freeport-McMoRan's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Stratos Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 238.5% in the 1st quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 64,519 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $2,443,000 after purchasing an additional 45,458 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 18.5% in the 1st quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 39,571 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $1,498,000 after purchasing an additional 6,188 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 421,469 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $15,957,000 after purchasing an additional 8,989 shares in the last quarter. Financial Sense Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 527.9% in the 1st quarter. Financial Sense Advisors Inc. now owns 76,127 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $2,882,000 after purchasing an additional 64,003 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Anderson Hoagland & Co. lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 27.6% in the 1st quarter. Anderson Hoagland & Co. now owns 109,565 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $4,148,000 after purchasing an additional 23,695 shares in the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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