Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

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

FCX has been the topic of a number of other reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $51.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.75.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of FCX traded up $0.96 on Wednesday, reaching $36.84. 13,838,337 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,355,858. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $37.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market cap of $52.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.87. Freeport-McMoRan has a 12 month low of $33.98 and a 12 month high of $55.24.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its quarterly 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 487.8% during the fourth quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 723 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

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.