Stifel Nicolaus Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Stock

Key Points

• Stifel Nicolaus raised its price target on Freeport-McMoRan to $80 from $76 and kept a buy rating, implying about 28% upside from the prior close.
• Other analysts remain broadly positive on FCX, with multiple buy/outperform ratings and a consensus Moderate Buy view; the average target price is $68.95.
• The stock rose 6.3% to $62.51, while the company also reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates in its latest earnings release.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $76.00 to $80.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the natural resource company's stock. Stifel Nicolaus' price objective indicates a potential upside of 27.98% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on FCX. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen raised Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $72.00 to $68.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $77.00 to $68.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $68.95.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 6.3%

Shares of FCX traded up $3.72 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $62.51. The stock had a trading volume of 7,294,756 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,558,541. The stock's 50 day moving average is $63.76 and its 200 day moving average is $62.06. The firm has a market cap of $89.86 billion, a PE ratio of 33.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Freeport-McMoRan has a 1 year low of $35.15 and a 1 year high of $72.28.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.73 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The firm's revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.24 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,807 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $564,000 after acquiring an additional 2,882 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 9,616 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $560,000. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 27.0% during the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 12,443 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $539,000 after purchasing an additional 2,648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 42.7% during the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 50,114 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $2,172,000 after purchasing an additional 14,992 shares in the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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