Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Lowered to Market Perform Rating by Sanford C. Bernstein

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) was downgraded by investment analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday, January 7th, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a $46.00 price target on the natural resource company’s stock, down from their prior price target of $51.00. Sanford C. Bernstein’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 17.62% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on FCX. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $48.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.96.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock traded down $0.30 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $39.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,298,344 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,913,258. Freeport-McMoRan has a 1-year low of $36.26 and a 1-year high of $55.24. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market cap of $56.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.87.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its quarterly 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. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 7.81%. The business had revenue of $6.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 0.3% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 597,473 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $29,037,000 after buying an additional 1,610 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 2,805 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. raised its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 13.7% in the second quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 94,270 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $4,581,000 after purchasing an additional 11,359 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC lifted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 46.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the second quarter worth $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

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.