Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Trading Up 2.7% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Shares rose about 2.7% to $70.11 on Friday with roughly 20 million shares traded, and the stock is currently trading above the MarketBeat consensus price target of $66.26.
• Analyst coverage is broadly positive (2 Strong Buy, 16 Buy, 4 Hold) with notable moves including Jefferies raising its target to $76 and Goldman Sachs initiating coverage at $70, leaving a consensus rating of Moderate Buy.
• Freeport beat expectations this quarter with EPS $0.47 vs. $0.28 and revenue $5.63B vs. $5.42B, declared a $0.075 quarterly dividend (0.4% yield), and trades at a market cap of $100.77B with a P/E of 46.43.

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) were up 2.7% on Friday . The company traded as high as $70.71 and last traded at $70.1120. Approximately 19,983,675 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 0% from the average daily volume of 20,017,898 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.28.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on FCX shares. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Freeport-McMoRan from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $53.50 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $70.00 to $66.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.26.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $100.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 2.29. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.63.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $5.63 billion for 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 business's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.31 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be given a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 15th. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1,962.9% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 722 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 687 shares during the period. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Freeport-McMoRan

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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