Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Stock Price Up 1.3% After Analyst Upgrade

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)’s share price was up 1.3% on Monday after CICC Research raised their price target on the stock from $50.40 to $64.40. CICC Research currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Freeport-McMoRan traded as high as $63.58 and last traded at $61.21. Approximately 31,488,153 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 38% from the average daily volume of 22,825,539 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.41.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $48.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Dbs Bank decreased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $51.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.59.

Insider Transactions at Freeport-McMoRan

In related news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 9,572 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.66, for a total value of $456,201.52. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 38,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,847,349.26. This represents a 19.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 28,423 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.99, for a total value of $1,364,019.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 105,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,053,059.06. This represents a 21.26% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FCX. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 1,962.9% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 722 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 687 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 1.3%

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.00. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $87.89 billion, a PE ratio of 40.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.45.

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

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 15th will be issued a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is currently 19.87%.

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.