Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) Sees a More Significant Dip Than Broader Market: Some Facts to Know

The latest trading session saw Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) ending at £51.34, denoting a -1.1% adjustment from its last day’s close. The stock trailed the S&P 500, which registered a daily loss of 0.13%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.33%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.39%.

Heading into today, shares of the mining company had gained 18.43% over the past month, outpacing the Basic Materials sector’s gain of 5.81% and the S&P 500’s gain of 2.43% in that time. The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Freeport-McMoRan in its upcoming release. The company’s upcoming EPS is projected at £0.44, signifying a 12.82% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be £6.44 billion, showing a 10.65% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter. For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of £1.61 per share and revenue of £25.91 billion, which would represent changes of +4.55% and +13.38%, respectively, from the prior year. Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Freeport-McMoRan should also be noted by investors.

These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. 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 utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional 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 last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 4.5% lower.

Freeport-McMoRan presently features a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). With respect to valuation, Freeport-McMoRan is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 32.34. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 17.91, so one might conclude that Freeport-McMoRan is trading at a premium comparatively.

Meanwhile, FCX’s PEG ratio is currently 3.33. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company’s expected earnings growth rate into account. FCX’s industry had an average PEG ratio of 0.88 as of yesterday’s close.

The Mining – Non Ferrous industry is part of the Basic Materials sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 100, putting it in the top 40% of all 250+ industries.
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The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. To follow FCX in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.

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Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) Sees a More Significant Dip Than Broader Market: Some Facts to Know

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