Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know

Read MoreHide Full Article

Freeport-McMoRan (FCX - Free Report) closed at $39.57 in the latest trading session, marking a -0.58% move from the prior day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.09% loss on the day. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.56%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.22%.

Heading into today, shares of the mining company had gained 28.35% over the past month, outpacing the Basic Materials sector's gain of 15.01% and the S&P 500's gain of 5.55% in that time.

Investors will be hoping for strength from Freeport-McMoRan as it approaches its next earnings release. In that report, analysts expect Freeport-McMoRan to post earnings of $0.35 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 63.54%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $5.35 billion, down 13.21% from the year-ago period.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $2.29 per share and revenue of $22.4 billion. These totals would mark changes of -26.84% and -1.94%, respectively, from last year.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Freeport-McMoRan. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.

Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 3.97% lower. Freeport-McMoRan is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

Digging into valuation, Freeport-McMoRan currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 17.35. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 15.78.

The Mining - Non Ferrous industry is part of the Basic Materials sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 195, which puts it in the bottom 23% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FCX) - free report >>

Published in