Sanford C. Bernstein Upgrades Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) to Outperform

Key Points

• Sanford C. Bernstein has upgraded Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating, setting a price target of $48.50, which signifies a potential upside of 28.45% from its previous close.
• Analysts have mixed views on Freeport-McMoRan, with other firms also adjusting their price targets; BNP Paribas Exane increased their target to $56.00, while BMO Capital Markets lowered theirs to $48.00.
• In its latest earnings report, Freeport-McMoRan exceeded expectations by posting an EPS of $0.54 and revenue of $7.58 billion, marking a 14.5% increase year-over-year.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report issued on Thursday. The firm currently has a $48.50 price objective on the natural resource company's stock. Sanford C. Bernstein's price target indicates a potential upside of 28.45% from the stock's previous close.

FCX has been the topic of several other reports. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $42.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Stifel Canada upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $48.97.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Down 16.8%

Shares of FCX stock opened at $37.76 on Thursday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $43.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.52. Freeport-McMoRan has a fifty-two week low of $27.66 and a fifty-two week high of $52.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap of $54.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.59.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.09. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.45% and a return on equity of 7.37%. The business had revenue of $7.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. City Holding Co. acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Dagco Inc. acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 59.6% during the 2nd quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 876 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 327 shares during the period. Finally, CKW Financial Group acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company's stock.

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.

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