Mining industry struggles with valuation gap amid shift to copper
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Sep 27 2024
0mins
Source: Reuters
Challenges for Mining Companies: Major mining firms like Rio Tinto, BHP, and Glencore are struggling to meet investor expectations for high returns while facing rising valuations of pure play copper companies amid increased global demand for copper, particularly from the electric vehicle sector.
Investor Concerns and Historical Context: Investors remain cautious about management's acquisition strategies due to past costly deals, leading to a preference for stock-based transactions over cash acquisitions, which can be more expensive in a declining commodity price environment.
Analyst Views on FCX
Wall Street analysts forecast FCX stock price to fall over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for FCX is 52.40 USD with a low forecast of 44.00 USD and a high forecast of 68.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
15 Analyst Rating
14 Buy
1 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 58.850
Low
44.00
Averages
52.40
High
68.00
Current: 58.850
Low
44.00
Averages
52.40
High
68.00
About FCX
Freeport-McMoRan Inc. is an international metals company focused on copper. The Company operates geographically diverse assets with significant proven and probable mineral reserves of copper, gold and molybdenum. The Company's segments include the Morenci and Cerro Verde copper mines, the Indonesia operations (including the Grasberg minerals district and PT-FI’s downstream processing facilities), the Rod & Refining operations and Atlantic Copper Smelting & Refining. Its operations include North America, South America and Indonesia. In North America, it manages seven copper operations: Morenci, Bagdad, Safford (including Lone Star), Sierrita and Miami in Arizona, and Chino and Tyrone in New Mexico, and two molybdenum mines: Henderson and Climax in Colorado. It also operates a copper smelter in Miami, Arizona. In South America, it manages two copper operations: Cerro Verde in Peru and El Abra in Chile. In addition to copper, the Grasberg minerals district also produces gold and silver.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
