Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Thursday morning.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on FCX. Bernstein Bank lifted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $52.50 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a sector outperform rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. HSBC lifted their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and lifted their target price for the company from $41.00 to $48.50 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $50.07.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FCX opened at $50.20 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Freeport-McMoRan has a 12 month low of $32.83 and a 12 month high of $52.42. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.20. The stock has a market cap of $72.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.72, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 2.04.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.05. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 6.97% and a return on equity of 7.17%. The business had revenue of $6.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.55%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 422.2% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 658 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares during the period. American National Bank boosted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 348.8% during the first quarter. American National Bank now owns 745 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the period. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Company Profile

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.