Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Trading Up 3.9% - What's Next?

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) shares shot up 3.9% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $43.20 and last traded at $43.23. 13,781,981 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 7% from the average session volume of 12,883,366 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.61.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on FCX. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $47.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Argus cut Freeport-McMoRan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $52.04.

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Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $38.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.97. The company has a market cap of $55.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.74, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.87.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.26%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FCX. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 123,219,298 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $4,692,191,000 after buying an additional 642,776 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 31,885,531 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $1,214,203,000 after buying an additional 5,735,171 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 29,579,298 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $1,122,922,000 after acquiring an additional 688,240 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 29,502,220 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $1,123,445,000 after acquiring an additional 2,191,926 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 24,055,524 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $916,037,000 after acquiring an additional 750,500 shares during the period. 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.