Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Cut to “Hold” at Jefferies Financial Group

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) was downgraded by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $40.00 price objective on the natural resource company’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $48.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 5.86% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $48.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $51.00 to $46.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.46.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Down 1.9 %

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

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 7.81%. As a group, analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FCX. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter valued at $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 150.4% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 487.8% in the 4th quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 723 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 46.8% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 740 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.