Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Shares Up 7% - Still a Buy?

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) was up 7% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $37.57 and last traded at $37.33. Approximately 5,588,674 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 14,413,707 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.90.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FCX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $47.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $51.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $51.75.

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Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $53.13 billion, a PE ratio of 28.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 2.42. The firm's 50-day moving average is $38.06 and its 200 day moving average is $42.35.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.05). Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.50% and a net margin of 7.42%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FCX. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,684,393 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $84,085,000 after buying an additional 66,699 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 21,951 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $1,096,000 after purchasing an additional 2,688 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 13,414 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $670,000 after purchasing an additional 885 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 97,541 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $4,869,000 after purchasing an additional 10,410 shares during the period. Finally, Leavell Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 79,185 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $3,953,000 after purchasing an additional 1,375 shares during the period. 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.