The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Positive Forecast for Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Stock Price

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) had its price target lifted by investment analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $68.00 to $75.00 in a report released on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the natural resource company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 7.66% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $71.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $66.00 target price (down from $70.00) on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $77.00 to $68.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Thursday, May 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $77.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.04.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FCX traded up $3.95 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $69.66. 10,041,294 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,482,505. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.50. The company has a market cap of $100.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.10, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.35. Freeport-McMoRan has a 52-week low of $35.15 and a 52-week high of $70.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.10. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 10.34%.The company had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.24 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Freeport-McMoRan

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FCX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,807 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 2,882 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 9,616 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $366,000 after buying an additional 507 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the second quarter worth $560,000. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 27.0% during the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 12,443 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $539,000 after buying an additional 2,648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 42.7% in the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 50,114 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $2,172,000 after acquiring an additional 14,992 shares during the period. 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.