Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Given Average Rating of "Buy" by Brokerages

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Buy" from the twenty-four analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seventeen have given a buy recommendation and four have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $48.30.

• Freeport-McMoRan Posts Strong Earnings Despite Indonesia Shutdown

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FCX. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Citigroup raised Freeport-McMoRan from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Clarkson Capital upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $46.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on Freeport-McMoRan

Insider Activity

• 3 Copper Stocks Ready to Shine in the Next Metal Supercycle

In related news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 28,423 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.99, for a total transaction of $1,364,019.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 105,294 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,053,059.06. This represents a 21.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 9,572 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.66, for a total transaction of $456,201.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 38,761 shares in the company, valued at $1,847,349.26. This represents a 19.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Freeport-McMoRan

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FCX. Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 0.8% in the second quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 30,333 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $1,315,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 45,133 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $1,957,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 45,095 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $1,769,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Waterloo Capital L.P. lifted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 6,658 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mengis Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. now owns 34,404 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $1,349,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

• A Copper Catalyst: Why Freeport-McMoRan Is Positioned to Rebound

Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $47.41 on Friday. Freeport-McMoRan has a 52 week low of $27.66 and a 52 week high of $49.12. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $68.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.49. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $41.92 and a 200-day moving average of $42.45.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.09. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.97% and a return on equity of 7.84%. The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 15th. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.13%.

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.

Recommended Stories

• Five stocks we like better than Freeport-McMoRan
• Large Cap Stock Definition and How to Invest
• Disney's $1 Billion Deal Brings Its Magic to OpenAI
• How to buy stock: A step-by-step guide for beginners
• Why Amazon Could Be a $300 Stock Within Weeks
• Are These Liquid Natural Gas Stocks Ready For An Upside Bounce?
• Adobe Gets Post-Earnings Lift: Long-Term Outlook Favors Upside

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Should You Invest $1,000 in Freeport-McMoRan Right Now?

Before you consider Freeport-McMoRan, you'll want to hear this.

MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Freeport-McMoRan wasn't on the list.

While Freeport-McMoRan currently has a Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.

View The Five Stocks Here