Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Shares Gap Down to $50.02

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $50.02, but opened at $48.42. Freeport-McMoRan shares last traded at $48.30, with a volume of 2,971,647 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FCX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $43.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Bank of America upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Freeport-McMoRan from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $41.00 to $48.50 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Thursday, January 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.54.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 0.8 %

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 2.42. The company has a market capitalization of $71.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 2.04.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The natural resource company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.04. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 8.09% and a return on equity of 8.41%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.85 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.62%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Retirement Group LLC increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 97.1% in the 2nd quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 670 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.