Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft Upgrades Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) to “Buy”

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) was upgraded by research analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Thursday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm presently has a $47.00 target price on the natural resource company’s stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 23.18% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on FCX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Argus downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Scotiabank reduced their target price 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, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.75.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 9.3 %

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $38.16 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $54.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.87. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.48. Freeport-McMoRan has a 52-week low of $34.26 and a 52-week high of $55.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.31 earnings per share 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 research analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 487.8% during the fourth quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 723 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. 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.