FMC (NYSE:FMC) Sets New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Saturday. The company traded as low as $8.21 and last traded at $8.3550, with a volume of 5,190,084 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $8.92.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on FMC. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of FMC from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of FMC from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of FMC in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of FMC from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of FMC from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.85.

FMC Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $10.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.39. The stock has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.38 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38.

FMC (NYSE:FMC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $841.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $895.14 million. FMC had a positive return on equity of 11.35% and a negative net margin of 84.83%. FMC’s revenue was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.69 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that FMC Corporation will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current year.

FMC Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. FMC’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -1.45%.

Institutional Trading of FMC

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in FMC during the second quarter worth $8,498,000. AXQ Capital LP boosted its position in shares of FMC by 109.9% in the 2nd quarter. AXQ Capital LP now owns 366,661 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,217,000 after buying an additional 191,945 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of FMC by 142.4% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 235,089 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,704,000 after buying an additional 138,098 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in FMC in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,175,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in FMC in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,401,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.86% of the company’s stock.

About FMC

FMC Corporation (NYSE: FMC) is an agricultural sciences company that develops, manufactures and markets crop protection products for farmers and other agricultural professionals. Its portfolio includes herbicides, insecticides and fungicides used to help protect crops from weeds, insects and diseases.

The company also develops biological and other crop health solutions, supported by research in areas such as plant science, chemistry and biotechnology. FMC’s products are used across a range of crops and growing conditions, and the company serves agricultural markets in North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia and other regions worldwide.

FMC traces its origins to 1883 and has evolved through acquisitions and investments in agricultural technology into a focused crop protection company.