Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Price Target Raised to $69.00

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) had its price objective increased by HSBC from $48.00 to $69.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the natural resource company’s stock. HSBC’s target price indicates a potential upside of 12.88% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on FCX. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Monday, January 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $48.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Johnson Rice cut their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $48.00 in a report on Monday, September 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $55.30.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Freeport-McMoRan stock traded up $1.06 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $61.13. 3,654,435 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,064,164. The company has a market capitalization of $87.77 billion, a PE ratio of 43.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.45. The business has a fifty day moving average of $48.63 and a 200 day moving average of $44.70. Freeport-McMoRan has a 1-year low of $27.66 and a 1-year high of $62.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 28,423 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.99, for a total transaction of $1,364,019.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 105,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,053,059.06. The trade was a 21.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 9,572 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.66, for a total value of $456,201.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 38,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,847,349.26. This trade represents a 19.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Leo Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Leo Wealth LLC now owns 6,838 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Iowa State Bank grew its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 49,059 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $2,492,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,628 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 0.8% in the second quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 30,333 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,315,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.6% during the second quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 45,133 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,957,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

About Freeport-McMoRan

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.