Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Price Target Raised to $81.00

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) had its target price hoisted by Bank of America from $68.00 to $81.00 in a research note released on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the natural resource company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on FCX. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Clarkson Capital upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $46.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Argus upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.59.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

NYSE FCX opened at $68.03 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business’s 50 day moving average is $59.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.56. Freeport-McMoRan has a 12-month low of $27.66 and a 12-month high of $69.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.05, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.47.

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

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Freeport-McMoRan

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.03, for a total transaction of $682,330.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 40,773 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,529,149.19. The trade was a 21.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Maree E. Robertson sold 48,500 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.55, for a total transaction of $2,985,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 79,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,917,475.70. This trade represents a 37.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 603,140 shares of company stock worth $37,660,139. 0.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCX. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter worth $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. 80.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.