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

FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC) reached a new 52-week low on Friday after BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on the stock from $11.00 to $7.50. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the stock. FMC traded as low as $4.84 and last traded at $5.6350, with a volume of 32,568,651 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $8.09.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on FMC. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of FMC in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of FMC in a research report on Friday, September 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $16.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of FMC from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Seaport Research Partners set a $21.00 price objective on shares of FMC in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of FMC in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $11.68.

FMC News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting FMC this week:

• Positive Sentiment: FMC is taking commercial actions in Brazil, Argentina, the United States and Canada—including price reductions and changes to its U.S. selling model—to clear high-priced channel inventory and potentially restore future replenishment demand. FMC Corporation Provides Update to Third-Quarter Expectations
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually high call-option activity suggests some traders are positioning for a rebound or increased volatility, but it does not establish a fundamental improvement in FMC’s outlook.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several law firms announced investigations into whether FMC’s disclosures around its roughly $403 million September share sale and planned $1.2 billion senior secured notes offering complied with securities laws. These are allegations and investigations, not findings of wrongdoing, but they add legal and investor-confidence risk. FMC Corporation Investigation Notice
• Negative Sentiment: FMC slashed third-quarter revenue guidance to $65 million-$125 million from $840 million-$900 million, while adjusted EBITDA is now expected to be negative $565 million to negative $510 million. The company cited weak agricultural demand and elevated inventories of higher-priced products held by channel customers. FMC Cuts Third-Quarter Revenue Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: The revised outlook includes approximately $625 million-$675 million in charges from commercial actions, implying a substantial near-term financial hit and underscoring the severity of FMC’s inventory and pricing problems.
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts remain concerned about FMC’s heavy debt load, potential covenant discussions, generic pesticide competition and weak farm demand. RBC cut its price target to $9, while Barclays downgraded the stock to “strong sell”; analysts have also warned that FMC’s dividend could be at risk. FMC Dividend Risk and RBC Price Target

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in FMC by 99.0% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,726 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,356 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in FMC by 3,642.9% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,834 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,785 shares during the period. Essential Partners LLC bought a new stake in FMC during the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in FMC during the second quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in FMC by 47.7% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,620 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 2,139 shares in the last quarter. 91.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

FMC Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $708.18 million, a PE ratio of -0.26 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.12. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 negative net margin of 84.83% and a positive return on equity of 11.35%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.69 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that FMC Corporation will post 1.20 EPS for the current year.

FMC Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. FMC’s dividend payout ratio is presently -1.45%.

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.