Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Upgraded by Freedom Capital to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Saturday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. HSBC increased their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $53.50 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.73.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Up 1.8%

FCX opened at $65.51 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.39, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.47. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $57.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.86. Freeport-McMoRan has a twelve month low of $27.66 and a twelve month high of $69.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $5.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.42 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.31 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 15th were paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Freeport-McMoRan

In other news, Chairman Richard C. Adkerson sold 248,031 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.80, for a total transaction of $15,576,346.80. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 3,509,119 shares in the company, valued at $220,372,673.20. This trade represents a 6.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.52, for a total transaction of $4,839,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 219,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,141,558.12. This represents a 25.49% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 573,486 shares of company stock valued at $35,791,937. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Leo Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Leo Wealth LLC now owns 6,838 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 924 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,687 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 1,840 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,119 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $158,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Company Profile

Freeport-McMoRan Inc is a U.S.-based natural resources company primarily engaged in the exploration, mining and processing of copper, gold and molybdenum. Its operations encompass large-scale open-pit and underground mining as well as associated concentrator and milling facilities. The company produces copper in the form of concentrates and cathodes, and also recovers gold and molybdenum as co-products; its business model includes exploration, development, mining, beneficiation and the sale of bulk commodities to smelters and industrial customers.

Freeport-McMoRan conducts operations and development activities across multiple geographies, with substantial assets in the Americas and Indonesia.