Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Stock Price Expected to Rise, HSBC Analyst Says

Key Points

• HSBC raised its price target on Freeport‑McMoRan to $72 from $69 and maintained a buy rating, implying roughly a 5.3% upside; the stock's consensus remains a Moderate Buy with an average target of $63.20.
• Freeport beat quarterly estimates with $0.47 EPS (vs. $0.28 expected) and $5.63B in revenue, and the shares trade around $68.36 with a market cap of $98.25B and a P/E of 45.02.
• Insiders have been net sellers recently—565,145 shares sold in the past 90 days (about $35.8M), including sizable sales by the chairman and CAO—leaving insiders with roughly 0.79% ownership.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by analysts at HSBC from $69.00 to $72.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the natural resource company's stock. HSBC's target price would suggest a potential upside of 5.32% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on FCX. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Freedom Capital upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $72.00 to $71.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.20.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:FCX opened at $68.36 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Freeport-McMoRan has a 52-week low of $32.12 and a 52-week high of $69.75. The company has a 50 day moving average of $61.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.18. The company has a market capitalization of $98.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.48.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $5.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.42 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The business'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 posted $0.31 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 29,654 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $1,868,202.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 76,445 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,816,035. The trade was a 27.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Richard C. Adkerson sold 248,031 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.80, for a total value of $15,576,346.80. Following the sale, the chairman owned 3,509,119 shares in the company, valued at $220,372,673.20. The trade was a 6.60% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 565,145 shares of company stock valued at $35,839,918. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 130,332,957 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $6,619,611,000 after purchasing an additional 1,572,769 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 63,880,757 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $3,244,504,000 after buying an additional 622,343 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 62,873,136 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $3,193,327,000 after buying an additional 395,226 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 37,353,852 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $1,897,202,000 after buying an additional 8,891,743 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 190.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 36,494,793 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $1,431,326,000 after buying an additional 23,950,557 shares during the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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