Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Trading 4.2% Higher - Time to Buy?

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 4.2% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $40.59 and last traded at $39.44. 4,800,065 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 13,645,869 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.86.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $42.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Dbs Bank raised Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Argus lowered Freeport-McMoRan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $48.09.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 3.3%

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $36.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.12. The company has a market capitalization of $56.20 billion, a PE ratio of 30.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.65. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The natural resource company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.36 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.50% and a net margin of 7.42%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. Analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Freeport-McMoRan's payout ratio is currently 24.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,388,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,684,393 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $84,085,000 after purchasing an additional 66,699 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 311,555 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $11,864,000 after purchasing an additional 18,852 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 123,219,298 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $4,692,191,000 after purchasing an additional 642,776 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 237.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,218,518 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $351,041,000 after purchasing an additional 6,486,011 shares during the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.