The Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price has continued to climb throughout the month of December.
In the past 30 days, the iron ore producer's shares have raced 12.5% higher in value. This puts the company as one of the stronger performers on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).
At Thursday's closing bell, the Fortescue share price finished the day down 0.73% to $19.14.
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What's the latest with Fortescue?
There are a number of reasons that have caused Fortescue shares to rise in recent times.
The price of iron ore has accelerated, reaching US$113.50 a tonne at the time of writing. This is in sharp contrast to when the steel-making ingredient traded as low as US$90 a tonne in mid-November.
News that energy behemoth AGL Energy Limited (ASX: AGL) will team up with green energy-focused Fortescue Future Industries has excited investors. The AGL and Fortescue share price both climbed on the news.
The companies have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to develop a hydrogen hub for the Hunter Valley coal plants. Namely, this relates to the Liddell and Bayswater coal-fired power stations, with AGL planning to transform the sites.
The Liddell coal-fired power station is scheduled to close down in 2023, with Bayswater going offline in 2025.
Notably, Fortescue boss, Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest will be involved with the development, which will consist of a 12-month feasibility study.
What do the brokers think?
This month, a couple of brokers rated the company's shares with varying price points.
Leading Australian investment firm Morgans raised its 12-month price target by 30% to $16.90 for Fortescue shares.
However, JPMorgan had a more bearish tone, downgrading its outlook on the Fortescue share price to "neutral" from "overweight". The broker also slashed its rating by 9.1% to $20.00 apiece.
Based on the current share price, this still implies an upside of around 4% for investors.
About the Fortescue share price
Up until the end of July, Fortescue shareholders were enjoying strong gains, hitting an all-time high of $26.58 apiece. That all came crashing down in the following months, with its shares touching a low of $13.90 in October.
Compared to this time last year, Fortescue shares are down 18%.
On valuation metrics, Fortescue commands a market capitalisation of roughly $58.93 million, and has more than 3.08 billion shares on issue.
