Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Price Target Raised to $68.00

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) had its target price raised by research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $55.00 to $68.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the natural resource company’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 13.48% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. HSBC reduced their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Bank of America upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $48.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.30.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

FCX stock traded down $0.43 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $59.92. 18,274,864 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,665,992. The stock has a market cap of $86.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Freeport-McMoRan has a one year low of $27.66 and a one year high of $60.71. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.30.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.74 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.97% and a return on equity of 7.84%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Freeport-McMoRan

In other news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 9,572 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.66, for a total transaction of $456,201.52. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 38,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,847,349.26. This represents a 19.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 28,423 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.99, for a total value of $1,364,019.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 105,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,053,059.06. The trade was a 21.26% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Freeport-McMoRan

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 1,962.9% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 722 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 687 shares during the period. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 80.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Company Profile

Freeport-McMoRan Inc is a U.S.-based natural resources company primarily engaged in the exploration, mining and processing of copper, gold and molybdenum. Its operations encompass large-scale open-pit and underground mining as well as associated concentrator and milling facilities. The company produces copper in the form of concentrates and cathodes, and also recovers gold and molybdenum as co-products; its business model includes exploration, development, mining, beneficiation and the sale of bulk commodities to smelters and industrial customers.

Freeport-McMoRan conducts operations and development activities across multiple geographies, with substantial assets in the Americas and Indonesia.