Scotiabank Has Lowered Expectations for Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Stock Price

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

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Raymond James lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.15.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 2.2 %

NYSE:FCX opened at $38.55 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $55.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 2.33. Freeport-McMoRan has a 1 year low of $36.26 and a 1 year high of $55.24. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.89.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its quarterly 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 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%. Freeport-McMoRan’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.39 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.90%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCX. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 1,170.7% in the second quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 521 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the period. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.