Brokerages Set Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Target Price at $51.75

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $51.75.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on FCX shares. Scotiabank cut their price target 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. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $51.00 to $46.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position 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 period. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

NYSE FCX opened at $38.91 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $55.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.16, 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $37.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.07.

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