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Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) closed at $37.42 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.4% move from the prior day. This change was narrower than the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.59%. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.45%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 2.78%.
Coming into today, shares of the mining company had gained 4.6% in the past month. In that same time, the Basic Materials sector gained 0.77%, while the S&P 500 lost 2.23%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Freeport-McMoRan in its upcoming release. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.28, down 12.5% from the prior-year quarter. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $5.54 billion, reflecting a 12.31% fall from the equivalent quarter last year.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $1.68 per share and a revenue of $26.32 billion, demonstrating changes of +13.51% and +3.41%, respectively, from the preceding year.
It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for Freeport-McMoRan. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. 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, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 4.07% lower within the past month. 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 22.65. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 16.31.
It's also important to note that FCX currently trades at a PEG ratio of 0.85. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. The Mining - Non Ferrous industry had an average PEG ratio of 0.8 as trading concluded yesterday.
The Mining - Non Ferrous industry is part of the Basic Materials sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 158, this industry ranks in the bottom 38% of all industries, numbering over 250.