Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Rating Lowered to Neutral at UBS Group

UBS Group downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report report published on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $50.00 price objective on the natural resource company's stock, up from their previous price objective of $45.00.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $56.00 price target on Freeport-McMoRan and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $56.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective (up from $48.00) on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $51.00.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock traded down $0.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $45.64. 11,459,377 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,795,322. The business has a 50-day moving average of $41.09 and a 200 day moving average of $38.54. Freeport-McMoRan has a fifty-two week low of $27.66 and a fifty-two week high of $52.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.59 billion, a PE ratio of 37.72, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The natural resource company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.01. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.03% and a net margin of 7.11%. The firm had revenue of $5.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.32 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Freeport-McMoRan

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 8,584 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.02, for a total transaction of $343,531.68. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 48,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,934,286.66. This represents a 15.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the first quarter worth approximately $366,959,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 237.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,218,518 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $351,041,000 after purchasing an additional 6,486,011 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 28.1% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 27,635,497 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $1,046,280,000 after purchasing an additional 6,054,537 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 31,885,531 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $1,214,203,000 after purchasing an additional 5,735,171 shares during the period. Finally, Crake Asset Management LLP grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 2,140.8% in the first quarter. Crake Asset Management LLP now owns 5,929,623 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $224,496,000 after purchasing an additional 5,665,000 shares during the period. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.