Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Hits New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $34.62 and last traded at $34.69, with a volume of 2671276 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $35.53.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on FCX shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Argus downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $51.00 to $46.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Eight 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.04.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Down 1.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.54. The company has a market cap of $50.37 billion, a PE ratio of 27.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.85.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.05). Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.42% and a return on equity of 7.50%. Research analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in 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 position in Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

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.