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

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $66.0409.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FCX shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $66.00 price target (down from $70.00) on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Friday, April 24th. HSBC raised their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Steph & Co. boosted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 43.7% during the 1st quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 493 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Down 9.1%

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $63.37 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $91.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.71, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Freeport-McMoRan has a 12-month low of $35.15 and a 12-month high of $72.09. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $63.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.17.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.10. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The firm had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.24 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th were paid a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.96%.

Freeport-McMoRan Company Profile

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.