Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group to Buy Rating

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $48.00 price target on the natural resource company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $40.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target suggests a potential upside of 30.03% from the stock’s current price.

FCX has been the subject of several other research reports. Argus downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. 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 report on Thursday, January 16th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank dropped 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 report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $51.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.04.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

FCX stock opened at $36.92 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $53.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.62, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.59. Freeport-McMoRan has a fifty-two week low of $34.89 and a fifty-two week high of $55.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 7.50% and a net margin of 7.42%. Sell-side analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Freeport-McMoRan

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FCX. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter valued at about $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.