Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $54.38 and last traded at $54.0130, with a volume of 4618143 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.93.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on FCX shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $47.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 31st. Bank of America upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $49.87.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 3.4%

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $44.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.09. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.97% and a return on equity of 7.84%. The business had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.38 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 15th will be given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.13%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 9,572 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.66, for a total value of $456,201.52. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 38,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,847,349.26. This represents a 19.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 28,423 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.99, for a total value of $1,364,019.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 105,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,053,059.06. The trade was a 21.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 1,962.9% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 722 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 687 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Inc is a U.S.-based natural resources company primarily engaged in the exploration, mining and processing of copper, gold and molybdenum. Its operations encompass large-scale open-pit and underground mining as well as associated concentrator and milling facilities. The company produces copper in the form of concentrates and cathodes, and also recovers gold and molybdenum as co-products; its business model includes exploration, development, mining, beneficiation and the sale of bulk commodities to smelters and industrial customers.

Freeport-McMoRan conducts operations and development activities across multiple geographies, with substantial assets in the Americas and Indonesia.