UBS Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Stock Price

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) had its target price decreased by UBS Group from $70.00 to $66.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the natural resource company’s stock. UBS Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 16.50% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on FCX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. CICC Research increased their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $50.40 to $64.40 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.40.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of FCX stock traded up $0.82 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $56.65. 4,667,478 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,887,695. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $50.57. The firm has a market cap of $81.42 billion, a PE ratio of 37.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Freeport-McMoRan has a 1-year low of $27.66 and a 1-year high of $69.75.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Maree E. Robertson sold 48,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.55, for a total transaction of $2,985,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 79,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,917,475.70. This represents a 37.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 75,000 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.52, for a total value of $4,839,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 219,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,141,558.12. This trade represents a 25.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 565,145 shares of company stock valued at $35,839,918. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,807 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $564,000 after acquiring an additional 2,882 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 9,616 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the second quarter worth about $560,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 81.7% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,382,171 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $59,917,000 after buying an additional 621,612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 19.5% in the second quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 16,211 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $703,000 after buying an additional 2,650 shares in the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.