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

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $51.46.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on FCX. Argus cut Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $48.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $36.97 on Monday. Freeport-McMoRan has a 12-month low of $34.89 and a 12-month high of $55.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $38.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.13 billion, a PE ratio of 28.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.85.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 487.8% during the 4th quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 723 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 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.