Benzinga - by Zacks, Benzinga Contributor.
Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) closed at $47.26 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.77% move from the prior day. The stock's change was less than the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.77%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.49%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.95%.
The the stock of mining company has fallen by 11.29% in the past month, lagging the Basic Materials sector's loss of 5.19% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.71%.
Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Freeport-McMoRan in its upcoming earnings disclosure. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $0.45, marking a 28.57% rise compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $6.01 billion, indicating a 4.76% upward movement from the same quarter last year.
Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $1.71 per share and revenue of $25.23 billion, indicating changes of +11.04% and +10.39%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Freeport-McMoRan. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's business operations and its ability to generate profits.
Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. 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, 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 past month, there's been a 3.1% rise in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Freeport-McMoRan is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Looking at valuation, Freeport-McMoRan is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 28.1. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 15.89, which means Freeport-McMoRan is trading at a premium to the group.
One should further note that FCX currently holds a PEG ratio of 2.1. 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. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Mining - Non Ferrous industry had an average PEG ratio of 0.76.
The Mining - Non Ferrous industry is part of the Basic Materials sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 37, placing it within the top 15% of over 250 industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
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