FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,310,000 shares, a growth of 9.4% from the November 30th total of 5,770,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,260,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.0 days. Currently, 5.1% of the company’s stock are sold short.

FMC Stock Performance

NYSE:FMC traded up $0.35 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $48.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 127,598 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,649,866. The business’s fifty day moving average is $57.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.54. The stock has a market cap of $6.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.15, a PEG 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 has a 1 year low of $47.71 and a 1 year high of $68.72.

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

FMC Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. FMC’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on FMC. Citigroup decreased their price objective on FMC from $70.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Mizuho raised 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 upped their price objective on shares of FMC from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of FMC from $75.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.69.

Insider Transactions at FMC

In other FMC news, VP Jacqueline Scanlan sold 4,529 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 28,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,709,485.83. This represents a 13.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of FMC

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millburn Ridgefield Corp raised its position in shares of FMC by 186.2% in the third quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp now owns 498 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of FMC by 90.8% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 517 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in FMC by 250.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 554 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares during the period. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in FMC during the third quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in FMC during the third quarter worth approximately $52,000. 91.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.