Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Stock Price Expected to Rise, BMO Capital Markets Analyst Says

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) had its price target hoisted by investment analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the natural resource company’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ target price points to a potential upside of 15.01% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on FCX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Dbs Bank reduced their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $51.00 to $48.00 in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. CICC Research decreased their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $51.60 to $42.30 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 26th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $58.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.11.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

NYSE:FCX opened at $47.82 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $68.67 billion, a PE ratio of 33.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.49. Freeport-McMoRan has a fifty-two week low of $27.66 and a fifty-two week high of $49.12.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.09. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.97% and a return on equity of 7.84%. The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 9,572 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.66, for a total transaction of $456,201.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 38,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,847,349.26. This trade represents a 19.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 28,423 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.99, for a total transaction of $1,364,019.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 105,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,053,059.06. The trade was a 21.26% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FCX. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the second quarter worth $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1,962.9% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 722 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 687 shares during the period. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the third quarter valued at $36,000. 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.