Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Freedom Capital

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Freedom Capital from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Saturday,Zacks.com reports.

FCX has been the subject of several other research reports. Clarkson Capital upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $46.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Argus raised Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, HSBC increased their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.73.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $65.51 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $94.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 2.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $57.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.86. Freeport-McMoRan has a one year low of $27.66 and a one year high of $69.44.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $5.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.42 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 8.50%.Freeport-McMoRan’s revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.31 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Freeport-McMoRan

In related news, Chairman Richard C. Adkerson sold 152,960 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.65, for a total value of $9,888,864.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 3,356,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $216,975,679.35. The trade was a 4.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Maree E. Robertson sold 48,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.55, for a total value of $2,985,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 79,894 shares in the company, valued at $4,917,475.70. The trade was a 37.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 573,486 shares of company stock valued at $35,791,937 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1,962.9% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 722 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 687 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

About Freeport-McMoRan

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.