Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Shares Up 3.1% - Should You Buy?

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 3.1% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $37.79 and last traded at $37.53. Approximately 2,994,394 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 17,445,855 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.41.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FCX has been the subject of several research reports. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $52.00 price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $39.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $47.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $48.09.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $54.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.17, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 2.42.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The natural resource company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.36 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.50% and a net margin of 7.42%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.32 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 15th. Freeport-McMoRan's payout ratio is currently 24.79%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter valued at $246,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the 3rd quarter worth about $754,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,310,294 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $1,348,522,000 after purchasing an additional 2,366,187 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 318,822 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $15,916,000 after purchasing an additional 1,947 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 4.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,684,393 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $84,085,000 after buying an additional 66,699 shares during the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is currently 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.