Argus Downgrades Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) to Hold

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Argus from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on FCX. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note 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 on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $48.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $51.46.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Freeport-McMoRan stock traded down $0.83 on Friday, reaching $35.81. 13,384,377 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,272,459. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Freeport-McMoRan has a twelve month low of $35.46 and a twelve month high of $55.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $40.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.39. The stock has a market cap of $51.46 billion, a PE ratio of 27.76, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.87.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 7.50% and a net margin of 7.42%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.75 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mountaineer Partners Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 4,767.8% during the third quarter. Mountaineer Partners Management LLC now owns 11,933,126 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $595,702,000 after purchasing an additional 11,687,982 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 142.5% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,279,517 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $162,964,000 after buying an additional 2,515,103 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,310,294 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $1,348,522,000 after acquiring an additional 2,366,187 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 423.5% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,788,111 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $139,183,000 after acquiring an additional 2,255,529 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 2.4% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 59,409,395 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $2,965,717,000 after acquiring an additional 1,392,494 shares during the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is 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.