FMC (NYSE:FMC) Hits New 12-Month Low After Analyst Downgrade

FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $70.00 to $55.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. FMC traded as low as $49.24 and last traded at $49.39, with a volume of 1251347 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $51.70.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of FMC from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of FMC from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, FMC presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.08.

Insider Activity at FMC

In related news, VP Jacqueline Scanlan sold 4,529 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.67, for a total transaction of $270,245.43. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 28,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,709,485.83. This trade represents a 13.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FMC

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FMC. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. increased its stake in shares of FMC by 18.7% in the third quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 60,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,970,000 after buying an additional 9,500 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp increased its position in shares of FMC by 82.9% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 49,892 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,290,000 after purchasing an additional 22,612 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of FMC in the 3rd quarter valued at about $58,000. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co bought a new position in shares of FMC during the third quarter worth about $205,000. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of FMC during the third quarter worth about $1,256,000. 91.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FMC Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $59.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

FMC (NYSE:FMC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. FMC had a return on equity of 7.68% and a net margin of 34.93%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.44 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that FMC Co. will post 3.35 EPS for the current year.

FMC Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.72%. FMC’s payout ratio is currently 19.97%.

FMC Company Profile

FMC Corporation, an agricultural sciences company, provides crop protection, plant health, and professional pest and turf management products. It develops, markets, and sells crop protection chemicals that includes insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides; and biologicals, crop nutrition, and seed treatment products, which are used in agriculture to enhance crop yield and quality by controlling a range of insects, weeds, and diseases, as well as in non-agricultural markets for pest control.