Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on FCX. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $47.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Scotiabank reduced their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Argus lowered Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $51.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.04.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Down 1.5 %

Freeport-McMoRan stock traded down $0.57 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $37.85. The stock had a trading volume of 17,458,934 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,429,203. Freeport-McMoRan has a 1-year low of $33.98 and a 1-year high of $55.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 2.42. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.87.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.31 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, analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Freeport-McMoRan

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 46.8% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 740 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC boosted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 833 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC grew its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 22,910 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $872,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the period. Palogic Value Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Palogic Value Management L.P. now owns 20,277 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $772,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,104 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $727,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the period. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.