Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Given New $48.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) had its price objective raised by Citigroup from $44.00 to $48.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the natural resource company's stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective (up from $48.00) on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $39.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $43.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $48.25.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

FCX stock traded up $1.21 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $46.34. 44,971,011 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,648,278. Freeport-McMoRan has a 52-week low of $27.66 and a 52-week high of $52.61. The stock has a market cap of $66.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.30, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock's 50-day moving average is $40.52 and its 200 day moving average is $38.39.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The natural resource company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.01. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.11% and a return on equity of 7.03%. The business had revenue of $5.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 8,584 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.02, for a total transaction of $343,531.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 48,333 shares in the company, valued at $1,934,286.66. This trade represents a 15.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 833 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. City Holding Co. bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Dagco Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. 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.