Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Price Target Cut to $52.00 by Analysts at BNP Paribas Exane

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Exane has cut its price target for Freeport-McMoRan from $56.00 to $52.00 while maintaining an "outperform" rating, indicating a potential upside of 44.32% based on current prices.
• Other analysts have also altered their ratings, with Scotiabank lowering its price objective to $45.00 and HSBC reducing its target to $43.00, amidst varied ratings from other firms.
• Freeport-McMoRan reported earnings of $0.54 per share for the previous quarter, beating expectations by $0.09 and recording a 14.5% year-over-year revenue increase.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by equities researchers at BNP Paribas Exane from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the natural resource company's stock. BNP Paribas Exane's target price would indicate a potential upside of 44.32% from the company's current price.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 price objective (down from $55.00) on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Freeport-McMoRan from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.50 target price for the company in a report on Thursday. HSBC lowered their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $46.00 to $43.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Clarkson Capital reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.44.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

NYSE:FCX opened at $36.03 on Thursday. The stock 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 cap of $51.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.36, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 2.47. Freeport-McMoRan has a fifty-two week low of $27.66 and a fifty-two week high of $52.61.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. City Holding Co. bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 59.6% in the second quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 876 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Dagco Inc. bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the second quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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