Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. HSBC lifted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Argus lifted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $44.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America raised Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.07.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of FCX stock traded up $1.16 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $49.40. 15,961,049 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,933,012. Freeport-McMoRan has a 12-month low of $32.83 and a 12-month high of $52.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The company has a market cap of $70.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 2.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $44.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.20.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.05. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.17% and a net margin of 6.97%. The firm had revenue of $6.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FCX. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 422.2% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 658 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. American National Bank grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 348.8% during the 1st quarter. American National Bank now owns 745 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

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.