Argus Boosts Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Price Target to $54.00

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) had its target price lifted by Argus from $44.00 to $54.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the natural resource company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on FCX. Bank of America upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $59.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. HSBC raised their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James lifted their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $49.50 to $54.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Freeport-McMoRan from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $41.00 to $48.50 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $50.07.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 2.3 %

NYSE FCX traded up $1.15 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $50.55. The company had a trading volume of 10,749,570 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,884,208. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $44.24 and a 200 day moving average of $40.20. Freeport-McMoRan has a 1-year low of $32.83 and a 1-year high of $52.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 2.04.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.05. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 6.97% and a return on equity of 7.17%. The company had revenue of $6.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.55%.

Institutional Trading of Freeport-McMoRan

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 422.2% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 658 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares during the period. American National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 348.8% during the 1st quarter. American National Bank now owns 745 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the period. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

About Freeport-McMoRan

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.