Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Price Target Cut to $48.00 by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) had its price target cut by Jefferies Financial Group from $60.00 to $48.00 in a research note released on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the natural resource company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Raymond James upped their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.15.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

FCX opened at $38.55 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 2.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.39 billion, a PE ratio of 28.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.87. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $42.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.89. Freeport-McMoRan has a 52-week low of $36.26 and a 52-week high of $55.24.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.81% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The business had revenue of $6.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.39 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is a boost from Freeport-McMoRan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.90%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCX. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 59,409,395 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $2,965,717,000 after purchasing an additional 1,392,494 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,891,058 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,436,455,000 after buying an additional 529,099 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,310,294 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,348,522,000 after buying an additional 2,366,187 shares in the last quarter. Mountaineer Partners Management LLC raised its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 4,767.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mountaineer Partners Management LLC now owns 11,933,126 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $595,702,000 after buying an additional 11,687,982 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,028,452 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $536,038,000 after acquiring an additional 530,676 shares during the period. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Inc engages in the mining of mineral properties in North America, South America, and Indonesia. It primarily explores for copper, gold, molybdenum, silver, and other metals. The company's assets include the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia; Morenci, Bagdad, Safford, Sierrita, and Miami in Arizona; Chino and Tyrone in New Mexico; and Henderson and Climax in Colorado, North America, as well as Cerro Verde in Peru and El Abra in Chile.