Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Lowered to Sector Perform at Scotiabank

Scotiabank cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) from a sector outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a research report report published on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $52.00 price objective on the natural resource company’s stock.

FCX has been the topic of a number of other reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. UBS Group raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $52.93.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE FCX opened at $49.92 on Monday. Freeport-McMoRan has a 12-month low of $32.83 and a 12-month high of $55.24. The stock has a market cap of $71.71 billion, a PE ratio of 44.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a 50-day moving average of $43.72 and a 200 day moving average of $47.57.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.07. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.83% and a return on equity of 7.60%. The firm had revenue of $6.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.35 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is 26.55%.

Institutional Trading of Freeport-McMoRan

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FCX. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. 80.77% of the stock is currently 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.