Sanford C. Bernstein Downgrades Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) to Market Perform

Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Sanford C. Bernstein currently has $46.00 price target on the natural resource company’s stock, down from their previous price target of $51.00.

Several other research firms also recently commented on FCX. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $48.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.96.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FCX opened at $38.77 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $55.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.86. Freeport-McMoRan has a 1 year low of $36.26 and a 1 year high of $55.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.81.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 7.81%. The business had revenue of $6.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.39 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. This is a positive change from Freeport-McMoRan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is 21.90%.

Institutional Trading of Freeport-McMoRan

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FCX. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 0.3% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 597,473 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $29,037,000 after buying an additional 1,610 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 3.8% during the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 76,473 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $3,717,000 after purchasing an additional 2,805 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 13.7% in the second quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 94,270 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $4,581,000 after purchasing an additional 11,359 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 46.3% in the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 24,048 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,169,000 after purchasing an additional 7,610 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the second quarter worth $29,000. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Freeport-McMoRan Company Profile

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.