Investopedia: With Freeport McMoRan, It's Time To Get Over It And Move On

I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that some percentage of Freeport McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) shareholders, or former shareholders, hated the company's decision to acquire Plains Exploration and McMoRan Exploration. These shares are down about 22% from the time just before the announcement, though miners like BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP), Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO), and Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) haven't fared dramatically better in what has been a pretty unpleasant market for basic materials stocks.

With the deals done, it's time to get over the disappointment regarding the oil and gas transactions and just accept Freeport McMoRan for what it is today – an incrementally more diversified natural resources company with a hefty amount of debt and high leverage to global economic growth. Given that I do not believe that the oil & gas properties will be value-destructive (in total) from this point on and that the valuation already prices in further copper price erosion, Freeport McMoRan stock does hold some appeal at these prices.

To read more, please follow this link:
http://www.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/061413/freeport-mcmoran-its-time-get-over-it-and-move-fcx-bhp-rio-scco.aspx