Jefferies Financial Group Cuts Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Price Target to $48.00

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) had its price objective decreased by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $60.00 to $48.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the natural resource company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 27.29% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on FCX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.46.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE FCX opened at $37.71 on Monday. Freeport-McMoRan has a 52-week low of $36.26 and a 52-week high of $55.24. The stock has a market cap of $54.19 billion, a PE ratio of 27.53, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.86. The business has a fifty day moving average of $42.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 2.33.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $6.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.45 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.81% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The company’s revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.39 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FCX. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter worth $25,000. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1,170.7% during the second quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 521 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 150.4% in the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 576 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares in 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.