Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $51.75.

Several research analysts have weighed in on FCX shares. Dbs Bank raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets lowered 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 note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th.

Institutional Trading of Freeport-McMoRan

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 5.7% during the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 37,431 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,869,000 after purchasing an additional 2,031 shares in the last quarter. First National Trust Co raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 21.1% during the third quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 7,377 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286 shares in the last quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter worth approximately $253,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 3.4% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 19,019 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $949,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter worth approximately $201,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FCX opened at $39.82 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Freeport-McMoRan has a 52 week low of $33.98 and a 52 week high of $55.24.

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

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.