Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Sets New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $34.62 and last traded at $34.69, with a volume of 2671276 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.53.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on FCX shares. Argus lowered Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $51.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.04.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Down 1.4 %

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $38.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.54. The stock has a market cap of $50.37 billion, a PE ratio of 27.17, 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.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 7.50% and a net margin of 7.42%. As a group, analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,029,000. Employees Retirement System of Texas raised its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 1,488,802 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $56,694,000 after purchasing an additional 297,172 shares during the period. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter valued at about $383,000. Finally, Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter worth about $351,000. 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.