FMC (NYSE:FMC) Sets New 52-Week Low on Analyst Downgrade

FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low 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 brokerages have also commented on FMC. Mizuho upped their price target on FMC from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of FMC from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Jacqueline Scanlan sold 4,529 shares of FMC stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 28,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,709,485.83. This trade represents a 13.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.81% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FMC

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barnett & Company Inc. acquired a new stake in FMC in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,265,000. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. lifted its stake in shares of FMC by 18.7% during the third quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 60,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,970,000 after acquiring an additional 9,500 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in FMC by 27.8% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,483 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,867,000 after acquiring an additional 9,449 shares during the last quarter. First National Bank of Omaha increased its position in FMC by 85.7% in the third quarter. First National Bank of Omaha now owns 33,935 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,238,000 after purchasing an additional 15,662 shares during the period. Finally, tru Independence LLC bought a new position in shares of FMC in the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,323,000. 91.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

FMC Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $58.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.12, a P/E/G 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 earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.04 billion. FMC had a return on equity of 7.68% and a net margin of 34.93%. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that FMC Co. will post 3.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FMC Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.85%. FMC’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.97%.

About FMC

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.