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

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $70.2682.

A number of research firms have issued reports on FCX. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Friday, May 15th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Steph & Co. grew its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 43.7% in the 1st quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 493 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of FCX opened at $62.53 on Monday. Freeport-McMoRan has a 1 year low of $35.15 and a 1 year high of $72.28. The company has a market cap of $89.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 2.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $63.69 and a 200-day moving average of $62.59.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.12. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 10.63%. The business had revenue of $7.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is 14.78%.

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.