Brokerages Set Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) PT at $49.23

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $50.07.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on FCX shares. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $41.00 to $48.50 in a report on Monday, January 8th.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of FCX opened at $49.40 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 2.35. Freeport-McMoRan has a twelve month low of $32.83 and a twelve month high of $52.42. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $44.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.20. The firm has a market cap of $70.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.72, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 2.04.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.05. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 6.97% and a return on equity of 7.17%. The firm had revenue of $6.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.55%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FCX. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 5.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 26,715 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $976,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 23.4% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 35,174 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,312,000 after acquiring an additional 6,661 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 41.9% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 14,793 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $552,000 after acquiring an additional 4,366 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 7.1% in the third quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,861 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $442,000 after acquiring an additional 786 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.9% in the third quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 84,435 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $3,149,000 after acquiring an additional 767 shares during the period. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.