Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Cut to Market Perform at Sanford C. Bernstein

Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Sanford C. Bernstein currently has $46.00 price objective on the natural resource company’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $51.00.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $48.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.96.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of FCX stock opened at $39.77 on Tuesday. Freeport-McMoRan has a one year low of $36.26 and a one year high of $55.24. The company has a market cap 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $42.09 and a 200-day moving average of $44.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.33 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $6.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.45 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 7.81%. The company’s revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.39 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. This is an increase from Freeport-McMoRan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.90%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1,170.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 521 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Hedge funds and other 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.