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Here's Why Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) Gained But Lagged the Market Today

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Freeport-McMoRan (FCX - Free Report) closed the latest trading day at $49.47, indicating a +0.59% change from the previous session's end. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a gain of 1.11% for the day. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.8%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 1.24%.

Coming into today, shares of the mining company had gained 23.54% in the past month. In that same time, the Basic Materials sector gained 5.96%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.48%.

The upcoming earnings release of Freeport-McMoRan will be of great interest to investors. The company's earnings report is expected on April 23, 2024. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $0.31, reflecting a 40.38% decrease from the same quarter last year. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $5.64 billion, indicating a 4.67% upward movement from the same quarter last year.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $1.51 per share and revenue of $23.72 billion, which would represent changes of -1.95% and +3.76%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Freeport-McMoRan. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the company's business and profitability.

Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.86% lower within the past month. Freeport-McMoRan is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

Looking at valuation, Freeport-McMoRan is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 32.56. This indicates a premium in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 16.81.

The Mining - Non Ferrous industry is part of the Basic Materials sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 92, which puts it in the top 37% of all 250+ industries.

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

Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.


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