Scotiabank Lowers Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Price Target to $45.00

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) had its price target decreased by stock analysts at Scotiabank from $48.00 to $45.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “sector perform” rating on the natural resource company’s stock. Scotiabank’s target price indicates a potential upside of 19.10% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $51.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.46.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FCX opened at $37.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.33 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.58, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.87. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.90. Freeport-McMoRan has a 12 month low of $36.26 and a 12 month high of $55.24.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.05). Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 7.81%. Analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.42 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 74.3% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 55,421 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $2,693,000 after purchasing an additional 23,629 shares during the period. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 95.7% in the 2nd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,175 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $592,000 after buying an additional 5,954 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $525,000. AXA S.A. raised its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 101.5% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 32,814 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,595,000 after buying an additional 16,531 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 28.1% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 285,529 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $13,877,000 after acquiring an additional 62,663 shares during the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is 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.