Zacks Research Cuts Earnings Estimates for Freeport-McMoRan

Key Points

• Zacks Research lowered its Q4 2027 EPS estimate for Freeport-McMoRan to $0.97 from $0.98, while the full-year consensus estimate remains at $2.56 per share.
• The stock has continued to draw mixed analyst views: several firms recently trimmed price targets, but the overall consensus rating is still Moderate Buy with an average target price of $65.14.
• Freeport-McMoRan most recently beat expectations, reporting $0.57 EPS on $6.23 billion in revenue for the quarter, both above estimates and up year over year.

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) - Zacks Research decreased their Q4 2027 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Freeport-McMoRan in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, May 19th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the natural resource company will post earnings per share of $0.97 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $0.98. The consensus estimate for Freeport-McMoRan's current full-year earnings is $2.56 per share.

FCX has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $76.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen cut Freeport-McMoRan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Friday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $65.14.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

NYSE:FCX opened at $60.88 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.17. Freeport-McMoRan has a 1 year low of $35.15 and a 1 year high of $70.96. The company has a market capitalization of $87.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.32.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.10. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 10.34%.The business had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.73 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.24 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 130,332,957 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $6,619,611,000 after buying an additional 1,572,769 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 63,880,757 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $3,244,504,000 after purchasing an additional 622,343 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 62,873,136 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $3,193,327,000 after buying an additional 395,226 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 20.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 42,345,502 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $2,489,069,000 after buying an additional 7,044,775 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 37,353,852 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $1,897,202,000 after buying an additional 8,891,743 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Freeport-McMoRan

In related news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 29,654 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $1,868,202.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 76,445 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,816,035. This trade represents a 27.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 15th were paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.96%.

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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