Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Freedom Capital

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Freedom Capital from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Saturday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. HSBC increased their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $70.00 price objective on Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.73.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of FCX opened at $65.51 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $57.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 2.29. Freeport-McMoRan has a 52-week low of $27.66 and a 52-week high of $69.44. The company has a market cap of $94.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.39, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.47.

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

Insider Transactions at Freeport-McMoRan

In related news, Chairman Richard C. Adkerson sold 248,031 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.80, for a total value 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 28,423 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 105,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,053,059.06. This represents a 21.26% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 573,486 shares of company stock valued at $35,791,937. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Freeport-McMoRan

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 1,962.9% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 722 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 687 shares during the period. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. 80.77% of the stock is currently 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.