Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Sets New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $36.20 and last traded at $36.23, with a volume of 1490283 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.67.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on FCX shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $48.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Raymond James raised their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $51.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.46.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Down 2.2 %

The firm has a market cap of $51.56 billion, a PE ratio of 26.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.87. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $40.67 and a 200 day moving average of $43.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.05). Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.81% and a return on equity of 7.40%. Equities analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $310,000. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. now owns 65,811 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $2,506,000 after acquiring an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 159,536 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $6,075,000 after purchasing an additional 8,195 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,297,136 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $125,555,000 after purchasing an additional 24,056 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

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.