In the latest trading session, Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) closed at $40.21, marking a -0.77% move from the previous day. This change was narrower than the S&P 500’s 2.91% loss on the day. At the same time, the Dow lost 2.73%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.25%.
Prior to today’s trading, shares of the mining company had gained 18% over the past month. This has outpaced the Basic Materials sector’s gain of 4.39% and the S&P 500’s gain of 0.84% in that time.
Freeport-McMoRan will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. On that day, Freeport-McMoRan is projected to report earnings of $0.98 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 27.27%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $6.69 billion, up 16.31% from the year-ago period.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $3.90 per share and revenue of $26.4 billion. These totals would mark changes of +24.6% and +15.55%, respectively, from last year.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Freeport-McMoRan. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company’s business and profitability.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
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 0.45% lower. Freeport-McMoRan currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Investors should also note Freeport-McMoRan’s current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 10.39. This represents a premium compared to its industry’s average Forward P/E of 8.95.
Investors should also note that FCX has a PEG ratio of 0.36 right now. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock’s expected earnings growth rate. Mining – Non Ferrous stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.08 based on yesterday’s closing prices.
The Mining – Non Ferrous industry is part of the Basic Materials sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 80, putting it in the top 32% 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.
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