Jefferies Financial Group Cuts Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Price Target to $48.00

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) had its price target lowered by Jefferies Financial Group from $60.00 to $48.00 in a research report report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the natural resource company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on FCX. Raymond James lifted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.96.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of FCX opened at $39.77 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 2.33. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $42.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.77. Freeport-McMoRan has a fifty-two week low of $36.26 and a fifty-two week high of $55.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.15 billion, a PE ratio of 29.03, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.86.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 7.81%. The company had revenue of $6.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.39 earnings per share. Freeport-McMoRan’s revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. This is a positive change from Freeport-McMoRan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.90%.

Institutional Trading of Freeport-McMoRan

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC acquired a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1,170.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 521 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 150.4% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 576 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares in 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.