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Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) Exceeds Market Returns: Some Facts to Consider

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In the latest close session, Freeport-McMoRan (FCX - Free Report) was up +1.32% at $45.20. The stock's change was more than the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.19%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.22%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.31%.

Coming into today, shares of the mining company had gained 15.42% in the past month. In that same time, the Basic Materials sector gained 8.69%, while the S&P 500 gained 1.33%.

The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Freeport-McMoRan in its upcoming release. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $0.19, marking a 38.71% fall compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $4.75 billion, showing a 17.04% drop compared to the year-ago quarter.

For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $1.49 per share and a revenue of $24.97 billion, representing changes of +0.68% and -1.89%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments 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 business and profitability.

Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed a 0.64% increase. Freeport-McMoRan is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

Looking at its valuation, Freeport-McMoRan is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 30.02. This expresses a premium compared to the average Forward P/E of 29.15 of its industry.

Meanwhile, FCX's PEG ratio is currently 1.01. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. Mining - Non Ferrous stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.01 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Mining - Non Ferrous industry is part of the Basic Materials sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 56, placing it within the top 23% of over 250 industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our 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.

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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