Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Hits New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $34.25 and last traded at $34.26, with a volume of 11721844 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.94.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FCX shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.75.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Up 2.7 %

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.22. The firm has a market cap of $52.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.18.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.31 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 123,219,298 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $4,692,191,000 after purchasing an additional 642,776 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 2.4% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 59,409,395 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $2,965,717,000 after buying an additional 1,392,494 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 31,885,531 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,214,203,000 after acquiring an additional 5,735,171 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 29,579,298 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,122,922,000 after acquiring an additional 688,240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 29,502,220 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,123,445,000 after acquiring an additional 2,191,926 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

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.