Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eighteen have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $60.7333.

FCX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Argus upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, CICC Research lifted their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $50.40 to $64.40 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE FCX opened at $68.38 on Friday. Freeport-McMoRan has a 1 year low of $27.66 and a 1 year high of $69.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $59.17 and a 200 day moving average of $48.33. The stock has a market cap of $98.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.47.

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

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 15th were given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is 19.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Richard C. Adkerson sold 152,960 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.65, for a total transaction of $9,888,864.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 3,356,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $216,975,679.35. This trade represents a 4.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Maree E. Robertson sold 48,500 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 79,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,917,475.70. The trade was a 37.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 603,140 shares of company stock worth $37,660,139. 0.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Freeport-McMoRan

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FCX. Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 1,551,258 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $60,840,000 after buying an additional 115,285 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 278.4% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 46,157 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,810,000 after acquiring an additional 33,959 shares in the last quarter. Arrow Capital Pty Ltd raised its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 88.5% during the 2nd quarter. Arrow Capital Pty Ltd now owns 113,100 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $4,903,000 after acquiring an additional 53,100 shares during the period. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 5.7% during the third quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 383,488 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $15,213,000 after purchasing an additional 20,586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Momentum Wealth Planning LLC purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,459,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

More Freeport-McMoRan News

Here are the key news stories impacting Freeport-McMoRan this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Life‑of‑resource operating rights extension at Grasberg and related commitments (retaining Freeport’s majority stake through the extended term) materially reduce regulatory timing risk for a flagship asset and underpin the recent multi‑day rally. Freeport‑McMoRan Grasberg Deal Reshapes Long Term Risk And Reward
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher price targets (several firms raising ratings/targets) are supporting buy‑side interest and helped fuel the recent market cap gain. MarketBeat: Analyst coverage roundup
• Positive Sentiment: Stronger base‑metals momentum—especially copper as Chinese trading activity returned—improves Freeport’s near‑term revenue outlook and makes miners’ cash flows more attractive. Copper leads base metals higher as Chinese traders return
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage and investor attention pieces (Zacks, Yahoo) highlight FCX as a high‑interest name this week, which can increase volatility as different investor cohorts rotate in and out. Zacks: FCX attracting investor attention Yahoo Finance: FCX attracting investor attention
• Neutral Sentiment: Management presentation at the BMO metals conference is available — useful for detail on guidance and project plans but not an immediate catalyst unless new guidance is released. BMO conference transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Unrelated junior miner exploration news (Max Resource) was circulated in market feeds but has no direct impact on Freeport’s fundamentals. Max Resource Mora sampling
• Negative Sentiment: Company CAO Stephen Higgins sold ~29,654 shares (~$63 avg) late February, trimming his holding by roughly 28% — insider sales can weigh on sentiment when they follow steep run‑ups. InsiderTrades: Insider selling alert
• Negative Sentiment: After a multi‑day advance, the stock snapped a six‑session winning streak as profit‑taking and short‑term repositioning occurred; that pullback is the proximate cause of today’s weaker price action. Seeking Alpha: Shares snap six‑session winning streak

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.