Q4 EPS Forecast for Freeport-McMoRan Reduced by Analyst

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) – Stock analysts at Raymond James lowered their Q4 2024 EPS estimates for shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report issued on Wednesday, October 23rd. Raymond James analyst B. Macarthur now forecasts that the natural resource company will post earnings per share of $0.43 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $0.44. Raymond James currently has a “Outperform” rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Freeport-McMoRan’s current full-year earnings is $1.59 per share. Raymond James also issued estimates for Freeport-McMoRan’s Q1 2025 earnings at $0.52 EPS.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.81% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The firm had revenue of $6.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.45 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

FCX has been the topic of a number of other reports. StockNews.com lowered Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.00.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FCX opened at $46.60 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $66.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.90. The business’s 50 day moving average is $45.99 and its 200-day moving average is $47.80. The company has a current ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Freeport-McMoRan has a 1-year low of $32.83 and a 1-year high of $55.24.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 22.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 72,896,288 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $3,427,583,000 after purchasing an additional 13,143,562 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 1st quarter worth $417,752,000. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 40.9% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 15,155,256 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $712,600,000 after buying an additional 4,396,309 shares in the last quarter. Asia Research & Capital Management Ltd bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the first quarter valued at about $197,966,000. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the first quarter worth about $162,464,000. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is 21.90%.

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.