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

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The latest trading session saw Freeport-McMoRan (FCX - Free Report) ending at $42.34, denoting a +2.07% adjustment from its last day's close. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.09%.

Coming into today, shares of the mining company had gained 9.56% in the past month. In that same time, the Basic Materials sector gained 4.01%, while the S&P 500 gained 7.21%.

The upcoming earnings release of Freeport-McMoRan will be of great interest to investors. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.45, down 2.17% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $6.79 billion, indicating a 2.44% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $1.65 per share and a revenue of $27.03 billion, indicating changes of +11.49% and +6.2%, respectively, from the former 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. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's business operations and its ability to generate profits.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 2.45% higher. Freeport-McMoRan currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, Freeport-McMoRan is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 25.19. This expresses a premium compared to the average Forward P/E of 23.51 of its industry.

Investors should also note that FCX has a PEG ratio of 0.82 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. The Mining - Non Ferrous industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 0.91 as of yesterday's close.

The Mining - Non Ferrous industry is part of the Basic Materials sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 64, this industry ranks in the top 27% of all industries, numbering over 250.

The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

To follow FCX in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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