Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Upgraded at The Goldman Sachs Group

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) was upgraded by analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on FCX. CICC Research upped their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $50.40 to $64.40 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Wall Street Zen cut Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Argus raised Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.75.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

NYSE FCX opened at $61.32 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Freeport-McMoRan has a 12 month low of $27.66 and a 12 month high of $69.75. The stock has a market cap of $88.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.61, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.48. The company’s 50 day moving average is $61.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.03.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $5.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.42 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The company’s revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.31 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 29,654 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $1,868,202.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 76,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,816,035. This represents a 27.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Maree E. Robertson sold 48,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.55, for a total value of $2,985,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 79,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,917,475.70. This represents a 37.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 565,145 shares of company stock valued at $35,839,918. 0.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FCX. Leo Wealth LLC increased its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Leo Wealth LLC now owns 6,838 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 924 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,687 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 1,840 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,119 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $158,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Company Profile

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.