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

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $51.75.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on FCX shares. Argus downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $51.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $47.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 37,431 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,869,000 after acquiring an additional 2,031 shares in the last quarter. First National Trust Co grew its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 7,377 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286 shares in the last quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 3rd quarter worth about $253,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 19,019 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $949,000 after buying an additional 619 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $201,000. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $37.57 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $37.92 and its 200-day moving average is $42.18. The stock has a market cap of $53.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Freeport-McMoRan has a 12-month low of $33.98 and a 12-month high of $55.24.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.05). Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.42% and a return on equity of 7.50%. Equities research analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Company Profile

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.