Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Trading Up 4.2% Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Freeport-McMoRan's share price increased by 4.2% following an upgrade by Bank of America from a neutral to a buy rating, with a target price of $42.00.
• Institutional investors have shown increased interest, with notable stakes raised by multiple hedge funds, leading to 80.77% of the stock being held by such investors.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15, representing an annualized yield of 1.6%, with the payment date set for November 3rd.

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 4.2% during trading on Tuesday after Bank of America upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to a buy rating. Bank of America now has a $42.00 price target on the stock. Freeport-McMoRan traded as high as $38.73 and last traded at $38.69. Approximately 17,160,197 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 4% from the average daily volume of 16,425,662 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.12.

FCX has been the topic of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Clarkson Capital reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. CICC Research reduced their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $51.60 to $42.30 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.50 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.81.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Stratos Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 238.5% during the 1st quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 64,519 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $2,443,000 after purchasing an additional 45,458 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. grew its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 18.5% during the first quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 39,571 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $1,498,000 after buying an additional 6,188 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 2.2% during the first quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 421,469 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $15,957,000 after buying an additional 8,989 shares during the period. Financial Sense Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 527.9% during the first quarter. Financial Sense Advisors Inc. now owns 76,127 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $2,882,000 after buying an additional 64,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anderson Hoagland & Co. raised its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 27.6% in the first quarter. Anderson Hoagland & Co. now owns 109,565 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $4,148,000 after acquiring an additional 23,695 shares during the period. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Up 4.1%

The company's 50 day moving average price is $42.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market cap of $55.47 billion, a PE ratio of 29.31, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.59.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $7.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.85 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.37% and a net margin of 7.45%.Freeport-McMoRan's revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 15th. Freeport-McMoRan's payout ratio is presently 22.73%.

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.

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