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Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) Stock Declines While Market Improves: Some Information for Investors

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The most recent trading session ended with Freeport-McMoRan (FCX - Free Report) standing at $37.15, reflecting a -0.38% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a gain of 0.43% for the day. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.19%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 0.71%.

Heading into today, shares of the mining company had lost 6.91% over the past month, lagging the Basic Materials sector's loss of 3.37% and the S&P 500's loss of 2.1% in that time.

Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Freeport-McMoRan in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings report is set to be unveiled on October 19, 2023. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $0.34, reflecting a 30.77% increase from the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $5.54 billion, up 10.67% from the year-ago period.

Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $1.61 per share and revenue of $23.09 billion. These totals would mark changes of -34.02% and +1.34%, respectively, from last year.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Freeport-McMoRan. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the company's business and profitability.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, 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, there's been a 0.74% fall in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Freeport-McMoRan is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, Freeport-McMoRan is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 23.22. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 22.09, so one might conclude that Freeport-McMoRan is trading at a premium comparatively.

Also, we should mention that FCX has a PEG ratio of 6.45. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. As the market closed yesterday, the Mining - Non Ferrous industry was having an average PEG ratio of 6.45.

The Mining - Non Ferrous industry is part of the Basic Materials sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 162, this industry ranks in the bottom 36% of all industries, numbering over 250.

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 use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming trading sessions.


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