FMC (NYSE:FMC) Shares Down 4.7% – Should You Sell?

FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC) shares traded down 4.7% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $12.54 and last traded at $12.7050. 406,210 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 3,818,195 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.33.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FMC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on FMC from $15.50 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on FMC from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of FMC in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of FMC in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of FMC from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.25.

FMC Trading Down 4.2%

The company has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.58 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.99. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.12.

FMC (NYSE:FMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.04. FMC had a negative net margin of 84.83% and a positive return on equity of 11.35%. The business had revenue of $841.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $895.14 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share. FMC’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that FMC Corporation will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FMC Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. FMC’s dividend payout ratio is -1.45%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FMC

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of FMC by 14.9% during the 1st quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 12,427 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 1,614 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in FMC by 3,642.9% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,834 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,785 shares during the last quarter. Essential Partners LLC bought a new position in FMC during the first quarter valued at $43,000. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in FMC by 297.2% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 6,264 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 4,687 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in FMC in the second quarter worth $55,000. 91.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About FMC

FMC Corporation is a global agricultural sciences company specializing in the development, manufacture and marketing of crop protection products. Its portfolio includes herbicides, insecticides, fungicides and plant nutrition solutions designed to enhance crop yield, quality and sustainability. In addition to core crop protection, FMC delivers solutions for turf management and pest control in urban and industrial environments.

Founded in 1883 as the Bean Spray Pump Company and later known as Food Machinery Corporation, the business adopted the FMC name in 1948 and has since evolved through strategic acquisitions and divestitures.