Scotiabank Reduces Earnings Estimates for Freeport-McMoRan

Key Points

• Scotiabank lowered its FY2026 EPS estimate for Freeport‑McMoRan to $2.36 (from $2.48), keeping a Sector Perform rating and a $71 price target versus a $2.55 consensus for the year.
• Several other firms — including Bank of America, Jefferies, Wells Fargo and Stifel — have recently raised price targets and largely maintained Buy ratings, leaving MarketBeat's average analyst view at "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $66.26.
• Shares trade with a market cap of about $97.2 billion and a PE of 44.8; insiders sold roughly 565,145 shares (~$35.8M) over the last three months, and the company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.075 (annualized $0.30, ~0.4% yield).

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) - Scotiabank reduced their FY2026 EPS estimates for shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, April 17th. Scotiabank analyst O. Wowkodaw now anticipates that the natural resource company will post earnings per share of $2.36 for the year, down from their previous estimate of $2.48. Scotiabank currently has a "Sector Perform" rating and a $71.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Freeport-McMoRan's current full-year earnings is $2.55 per share. Scotiabank also issued estimates for Freeport-McMoRan's FY2027 earnings at $2.44 EPS.

FCX has been the subject of several other reports. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $64.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Two equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.26.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $67.64 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $97.21 billion, a PE ratio of 44.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.48. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.47. Freeport-McMoRan has a twelve month low of $33.30 and a twelve month high of $70.96.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $5.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.42 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.31 EPS.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Steph & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 43.7% in the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 493 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. SHP Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 11,000 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.03, for a total transaction of $682,330.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 40,773 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,529,149.19. The trade was a 21.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Maree E. Robertson sold 48,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.55, for a total transaction of $2,985,175.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 79,894 shares in the company, valued at $4,917,475.70. The trade was a 37.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 565,145 shares of company stock worth $35,839,918. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Freeport-McMoRan's payout ratio is presently 19.87%.

Freeport-McMoRan Company Profile

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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