Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Price Target Raised to $72.00

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) had its target price raised by HSBC from $69.00 to $72.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the natural resource company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on FCX. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $72.00 to $71.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. CICC Research increased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $50.40 to $64.40 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.26.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of FCX stock opened at $68.30 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $62.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.63. 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 one year low of $32.12 and a one year high of $69.75. The firm has a market cap of $98.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.48.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The firm had revenue of $5.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.31 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 29,654 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $1,868,202.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 76,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,816,035. This trade represents a 27.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Maree E. Robertson sold 48,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.55, for a total transaction of $2,985,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 79,894 shares in the company, valued at $4,917,475.70. The trade was a 37.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 565,145 shares of company stock worth $35,839,918. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FCX. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 190.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 36,494,793 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,431,326,000 after purchasing an additional 23,950,557 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 98.8% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 19,973,108 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,014,434,000 after purchasing an additional 9,924,573 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 37,353,852 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,897,202,000 after purchasing an additional 8,891,743 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 102.5% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 14,211,579 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $721,806,000 after purchasing an additional 7,192,955 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PointState Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter valued at $198,523,000. 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.