FY2025 EPS Forecast for Freeport-McMoRan Lowered by Analyst

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) – Analysts at Scotiabank dropped their FY2025 EPS estimates for Freeport-McMoRan in a research report issued on Wednesday, January 8th. Scotiabank analyst O. Wowkodaw now expects that the natural resource company will post earnings of $1.21 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $1.34. Scotiabank currently has a “Sector Perform” rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Freeport-McMoRan’s current full-year earnings is $1.49 per share.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $6.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.45 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.81% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.39 earnings per share.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $51.00 to $46.00 in a report on Tuesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.96.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of FCX opened at $38.99 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.74. 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 company has a market capitalization of $56.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.46, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.87. Freeport-McMoRan has a 1 year low of $36.26 and a 1 year high of $55.24.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 597,473 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $29,037,000 after buying an additional 1,610 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 3.8% in the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 76,473 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $3,717,000 after acquiring an additional 2,805 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC increased its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 46.3% in the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 24,048 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,169,000 after purchasing an additional 7,610 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 2nd quarter valued at about $99,000. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Freeport-McMoRan Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. This is a boost from Freeport-McMoRan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is 21.90%.

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.