Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Upgraded at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $48.00 price target on the natural resource company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $40.00.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Argus downgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $51.00 to $46.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.04.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $36.92 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.59. Freeport-McMoRan has a 12 month low of $34.89 and a 12 month high of $55.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.62, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.18.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.05). Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.42% and a return on equity of 7.50%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 487.8% during the fourth quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 723 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. 80.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.