Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Reaches New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Freeport-McMoRan shares hit a new 52-week high of $70.34 on Friday (last $70.377), trading on heavy volume and reflecting a market cap of $100.65 billion with 50-/200-day moving averages of $62.01/$52.63.
• Analysts have been raising targets and ratings—Wells Fargo to $77 (overweight) and Stifel to $76 (buy)—and the consensus is a Moderate Buy (2 Strong Buy, 16 Buy, 4 Hold) with an average target of $66.26.
• Freeport beat quarterly estimates with EPS $0.47 vs. $0.28 and revenue $5.63B vs. $5.42B, declared a $0.075 quarterly dividend (annualized $0.30, 0.4% yield), and insiders sold roughly 565,145 shares in the last quarter.

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $70.34 and last traded at $70.3770, with a volume of 5972157 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $68.28.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on FCX shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $64.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Argus upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $72.00 to $71.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $66.26.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $100.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $62.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 2.29.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $5.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.42 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 8.50%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.31 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. Freeport-McMoRan's payout ratio is presently 19.87%.

Insider Transactions at Freeport-McMoRan

In related news, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 75,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.52, for a total value of $4,839,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 219,181 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,141,558.12. This represents a 25.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Richard C. Adkerson sold 248,031 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.80, for a total transaction of $15,576,346.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 3,509,119 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $220,372,673.20. The trade was a 6.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 565,145 shares of company stock valued at $35,839,918. Insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1,962.9% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 722 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 687 shares during the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Company Profile

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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