Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) Competitors

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) and Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) are both large-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, earnings, community ranking, media sentiment, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Does the media prefer SCCO or FCX?

In the previous week, Freeport-McMoRan had 34 more articles in the media than Southern Copper. MarketBeat recorded 42 mentions for Freeport-McMoRan and 8 mentions for Southern Copper. Freeport-McMoRan's average media sentiment score of 1.18 beat Southern Copper's score of 1.08 indicating that Freeport-McMoRan is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Southern Copper	7 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Freeport-McMoRan	32 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Does the MarketBeat Community favor SCCO or FCX?

Freeport-McMoRan received 726 more outperform votes than Southern Copper when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 66.10% of users gave Freeport-McMoRan an outperform vote while only 55.74% of users gave Southern Copper an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Southern Copper	Outperform Votes 393 55.74%	Underperform Votes 312 44.26%
Freeport-McMoRan	Outperform Votes 1119 66.10%	Underperform Votes 574 33.90%

Which has higher earnings and valuation, SCCO or FCX?

Southern Copper has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Freeport-McMoRan. Southern Copper is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Freeport-McMoRan, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Southern Copper	$11.43B	5.95	$3.38B	$4.32	20.04
Freeport-McMoRan	$25.46B	2.00	$1.89B	$1.29	27.51

Which has more risk and volatility, SCCO or FCX?

Southern Copper has a beta of 1.13, indicating that its stock price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Freeport-McMoRan has a beta of 1.85, indicating that its stock price is 85% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders & institutionals believe in SCCO or FCX?

7.9% of Southern Copper shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.8% of Freeport-McMoRan shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Southern Copper shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of Freeport-McMoRan shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is SCCO or FCX more profitable?

Southern Copper has a net margin of 29.53% compared to Freeport-McMoRan's net margin of 7.42%. Southern Copper's return on equity of 40.27% beat Freeport-McMoRan's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Southern Copper	29.53%	40.27%	19.12%
Freeport-McMoRan	7.42%	7.50%	3.92%

Do analysts recommend SCCO or FCX?

Southern Copper currently has a consensus price target of $94.81, indicating a potential upside of 9.52%. Freeport-McMoRan has a consensus price target of $52.04, indicating a potential upside of 46.62%. Given Freeport-McMoRan's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Freeport-McMoRan is more favorable than Southern Copper.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Southern Copper	4 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.78
Freeport-McMoRan	0 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.60

Is SCCO or FCX a better dividend stock?

Southern Copper pays an annual dividend of $2.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Freeport-McMoRan pays an annual dividend of $0.30 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Southern Copper pays out 64.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Freeport-McMoRan pays out 23.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Summary

Freeport-McMoRan beats Southern Copper on 14 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.