Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Cut to Hold at Argus

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) was downgraded by research analysts at Argus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

FCX has been the subject of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $48.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James increased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $51.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.46.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $36.62 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.62 billion, a PE ratio of 28.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.87. Freeport-McMoRan has a 52 week low of $35.46 and a 52 week high of $55.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $40.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 2.42.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.05). Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.42% and a return on equity of 7.50%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Freeport-McMoRan

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Matrix Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 150.4% in the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 576 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

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.