Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $54.00.

A number of research analysts recently commented on FCX shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $54.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Freeport-McMoRan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Freeport-McMoRan stock traded down $2.22 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $46.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 16,197,353 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,333,747. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $46.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.58. Freeport-McMoRan has a 1-year low of $32.83 and a 1-year high of $55.24. The company has a market cap of $66.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.84, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.33 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 7.81%. The business had revenue of $6.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.39 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th were paid a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio is 21.90%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FCX. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1,170.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 521 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Matrix Trust Co bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.