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Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know

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In the latest trading session, Freeport-McMoRan (FCX - Free Report) closed at $32.93, marking a +0.76% move from the previous day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.36%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.26%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 1.54%.

Coming into today, shares of the mining company had lost 7.11% in the past month. In that same time, the Basic Materials sector gained 3.56%, while the S&P 500 gained 4.14%.

Investors will be hoping for strength from FCX as it approaches its next earnings release. In that report, analysts expect FCX to post earnings of $0.53 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 431.25%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $4.63 billion, up 65.61% from the prior-year quarter.

For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $2.51 per share and revenue of $20.44 billion, which would represent changes of +364.81% and +43.99%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for FCX. 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. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 12.68% higher. FCX is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, FCX is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 13.01. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 15.38, which means FCX is trading at a discount to the group.

Also, we should mention that FCX has a PEG ratio of 0.49. 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. Mining - Non Ferrous stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 0.82 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 92, putting it in the top 37% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.


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