UBS Group Cuts Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Price Target to $66.00

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) had its price target cut by UBS Group from $70.00 to $66.00 in a research note released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the natural resource company’s stock.

FCX has been the topic of several other reports. HSBC lifted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Freedom Capital raised Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.40.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

FCX opened at $56.26 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $50.72. Freeport-McMoRan has a 52-week low of $27.66 and a 52-week high of $69.75. The company has a market cap of $80.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.26, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.31 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.87%.

Insider Activity

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, Chairman Richard C. Adkerson sold 248,031 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.80, for a total transaction of $15,576,346.80. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 3,509,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $220,372,673.20. The trade was a 6.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.03, for a total value of $682,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 40,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,529,149.19. The trade was a 21.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 565,145 shares of company stock valued at $35,839,918 in the last 90 days. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other 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.