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Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) Stock Falls Amid Market Uptick: What Investors Need to Know

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The most recent trading session ended with Freeport-McMoRan (FCX - Free Report) standing at $50.74, reflecting a -0.35% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. The stock trailed the S&P 500, which registered a daily gain of 0.74%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a loss of 0.01%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 1.68%.

The the stock of mining company has risen by 17.3% in the past month, leading the Basic Materials sector's gain of 3.54% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.8%.

The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Freeport-McMoRan in its upcoming release. The company is slated to reveal its earnings 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 $5.61 billion, indicating a 4.16% upward movement from the same quarter last year.

For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $1.60 per share and a revenue of $23.72 billion, representing changes of +3.9% and +3.76%, respectively, from the prior year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Freeport-McMoRan should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable 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. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 5.29% higher. At present, Freeport-McMoRan boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Looking at valuation, Freeport-McMoRan is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 31.75. This denotes a premium relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 13.8.

Investors should also note that FCX has a PEG ratio of 2.29 right now. 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 of the close of trade yesterday, the Mining - Non Ferrous industry held an average PEG ratio of 1.49.

The Mining - Non Ferrous industry is part of the Basic Materials sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 39, finds itself in the top 16% echelons of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered 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.

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


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