Jefferies Financial Group Upgrades Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) to Buy

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has $48.00 price target on the natural resource company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $40.00.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on FCX. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $51.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. 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 report on Thursday, January 16th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective 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. Finally, Argus lowered Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.04.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FCX opened at $36.92 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.59. 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 company has a market cap of $53.05 billion, a PE ratio of 28.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.85. Freeport-McMoRan has a 12 month low of $34.89 and a 12 month high of $55.24.

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 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan 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 stock. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 2.0% in the third quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,681 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $560,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,548 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $277,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 46.8% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 740 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 50,431 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $2,518,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intellectus Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.4% during the third quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 71,758 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $3,582,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.