In the latest close session, Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) was up +2.02% at $67.04. The stock outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a daily gain of 0.26%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.09%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.42%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the mining company had gained 16.2% outpaced the Basic Materials sector's gain of 4.93% and the S&P 500's gain of 6.32%.

The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Freeport-McMoRan in its upcoming release. In that report, analysts expect Freeport-McMoRan to post earnings of $0.6 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 11.11%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $6.37 billion, down 15.99% from the year-ago period.

FCX's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $2.56 per share and revenue of $27.24 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +44.63% and +5.12%, respectively.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Freeport-McMoRan. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the business and profitability.

Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has remained steady. 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 25.62. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 26.63, so one might conclude that Freeport-McMoRan is trading at a discount comparatively.

Meanwhile, FCX's PEG ratio is currently 0.79. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Mining – Non Ferrous industry held an average PEG ratio of 1.67.

The Mining – Non Ferrous industry is part of the Basic Materials sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 160, putting it in the bottom 35% of all 250+ industries.

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.

Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.

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Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FCX) : Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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