Bernstein Bank Raises Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Price Target to $52.50

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) had its price target boosted by equities researchers at Bernstein Bank from $52.00 to $52.50 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the natural resource company’s stock. Bernstein Bank’s target price indicates a potential upside of 8.20% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $43.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. HSBC boosted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.15.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FCX traded down $0.43 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $48.52. 6,380,016 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,747,823. Freeport-McMoRan has a 52 week low of $32.83 and a 52 week high of $52.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $43.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The company has a market cap of $69.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.64, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 2.04.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.05. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 8.09% and a return on equity of 8.41%. The firm had revenue of $6.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. Freeport-McMoRan’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Accurate Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 39.2% during the first quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,368 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $961,000 after purchasing an additional 5,453 shares during the period. Clarus Group Inc. bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the first quarter worth approximately $202,000. Stonegate Investment Group LLC boosted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 6.1% during the first quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 28,826 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,661 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the first quarter valued at $207,000. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 3.4% in the first quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 25,220 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,186,000 after buying an additional 830 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.