Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Freeport-McMoRan has been upgraded from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting increased analyst confidence.
• The stock's price target has been adjusted by several analysts, with recent targets ranging from $50.00 to $54.00, indicating a bullish outlook.
• In its latest quarterly earnings report, Freeport-McMoRan posted earnings of $0.54 per share, exceeding expectations and marking a 14.5% increase in revenue from the previous year.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Saturday morning.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group downgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating and set a $56.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $51.00.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

FCX traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $44.87. The company had a trading volume of 16,007,915 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,985,843. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The business has a 50-day moving average of $42.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.98. The company has a market cap of $64.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.64. Freeport-McMoRan has a 1 year low of $27.66 and a 1 year high of $52.61.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 7.37% and a net margin of 7.45%. The business had revenue of $7.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio is 22.73%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 8,584 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 48,333 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,934,286.66. This trade represents a 15.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Freeport-McMoRan

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 125,042,285 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $4,734,101,000 after buying an additional 1,822,987 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 37,547,489 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $1,421,549,000 after purchasing an additional 5,661,958 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 29,579,298 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $1,122,922,000 after purchasing an additional 688,240 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 29,502,220 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $1,123,445,000 after buying an additional 2,191,926 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 28.1% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 27,635,497 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $1,046,280,000 after acquiring an additional 6,054,537 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.