Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Analyst Says

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) had its price target increased by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $46.00 to $50.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the natural resource company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 22.20% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Tuesday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $47.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Freeport-McMoRan from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.50 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $46.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 target price (down from $55.00) on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.56.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Down 5.5%

Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $40.92 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Freeport-McMoRan has a 12 month low of $27.66 and a 12 month high of $50.28. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.55. The firm has a market cap of $58.74 billion, a PE ratio of 31.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.58.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.09. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.37% and a net margin of 7.45%.The business had revenue of $7.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Freeport-McMoRan

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Stratos Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 238.5% during the 1st quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 64,519 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $2,443,000 after purchasing an additional 45,458 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 18.5% during the 1st quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 39,571 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,498,000 after purchasing an additional 6,188 shares during the last quarter. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC now owns 331,549 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $14,373,000 after purchasing an additional 24,803 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 421,469 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $15,957,000 after purchasing an additional 8,989 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Sense Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 527.9% during the 1st quarter. Financial Sense Advisors Inc. now owns 76,127 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $2,882,000 after purchasing an additional 64,003 shares during the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is 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.