Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Monday morning.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Dbs Bank upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Argus lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.04.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $38.17 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $38.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.89. Freeport-McMoRan has a 52 week low of $33.98 and a 52 week high of $55.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.59, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.18 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 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.05). Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.42% and a return on equity of 7.50%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is currently 23.26%.

Institutional Trading of Freeport-McMoRan

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 487.8% in the fourth 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 acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. 80.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.