Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Receives $70.27 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-three brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $70.2682.

FCX has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Citigroup restated a “positive” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $71.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. HSBC lifted their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $72.00 to $75.00 in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 14,277 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total transaction of $992,251.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 54,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,795,951. The trade was a 20.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 4,773 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $334,110.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 36,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,520,000. This represents a 11.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 26,600 shares of company stock valued at $1,802,012 in the last quarter. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NBH Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Steph & Co. grew its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 43.7% during the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 493 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE:FCX opened at $76.68 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 0.92. Freeport-McMoRan has a 12-month low of $35.15 and a 12-month high of $77.33.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $7.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 10.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.54 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan will post 2.79 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th were paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is presently 14.78%.

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.