Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Raised to Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) was upgraded by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Thursday,Finviz reports. The firm currently has a $48.00 price objective on the natural resource company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $40.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 26.23% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on FCX. Argus lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price 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. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $51.00 to $46.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.04.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

FCX stock opened at $38.03 on Thursday. Freeport-McMoRan has a 12 month low of $34.89 and a 12 month high of $55.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $38.37 and a 200-day moving average of $42.66.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.05). Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.42% and a return on equity of 7.50%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 487.8% during the 4th quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 723 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. 80.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.