Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Sets New 12-Month Low - Here's What Happened

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $34.62 and last traded at $34.69, with a volume of 2671276 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $35.53.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $51.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Argus lowered shares of 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 given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $52.04.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 9.3 %

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 company has a fifty day moving average of $38.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.85.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FCX. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 487.8% during the 4th quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 723 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. 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.