Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Upgraded to "Buy" at Jefferies Financial Group

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The firm presently has a $48.00 price objective on the natural resource company's stock, up from their previous price objective of $40.00. Jefferies Financial Group's price target suggests a potential upside of 30.03% from the stock's previous close.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $51.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. 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 reduced their price objective 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, Argus lowered Freeport-McMoRan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $52.04.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock traded down $0.51 during trading on Thursday, reaching $36.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 14,776,973 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,538,130. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business's 50-day moving average price is $38.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.59. Freeport-McMoRan has a 52 week low of $34.89 and a 52 week high of $55.24. The firm has a market cap of $53.05 billion, a PE ratio of 28.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.85.

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 (EPS) 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCX. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 2.0% during the third quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,681 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $560,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 47,690 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $2,381,000 after buying an additional 2,078 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 220,726 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $11,019,000 after buying an additional 983 shares during the period. S.A. Mason LLC lifted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 42.1% in the third quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 4,413 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 1,307 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 5.4% in the third quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 7,085 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $354,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares during the period. 80.77% of the stock is currently 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.