Scotiabank Cuts Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Price Target to $48.00

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) had its price target reduced by Scotiabank from $52.00 to $48.00 in a research note published on Monday,Benzinga reports. Scotiabank currently has a sector perform rating on the natural resource company’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on FCX. StockNews.com downgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Raymond James increased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.96.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FCX opened at $39.77 on Monday. 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 has a twelve month low of $36.26 and a twelve month high of $55.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.86. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.77.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $6.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.45 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.81% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.39 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This is a boost from Freeport-McMoRan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.90%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 1,170.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 521 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 150.4% during the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 576 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the period. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.