FMC (NYSE:FMC) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday after Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on the stock from $11.00 to $9.00. The stock had previously closed at $8.09, but opened at $5.12. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the stock. FMC shares last traded at $5.1580, with a volume of 7,047,936 shares traded.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on FMC. Barclays upgraded FMC from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of FMC in a research note on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of FMC from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of FMC from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $14.00 target price on shares of FMC in a research report on Friday, July 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.38.

Key Headlines Impacting FMC

Here are the key news stories impacting FMC this week:

• Positive Sentiment: FMC announced commercial actions in Brazil, Argentina, the United States and Canada intended to accelerate the movement of products through distribution channels and support future replenishment demand. The company also said it expects to comply with its debt covenants as of September 30 and will discuss potential covenant modifications with its banks. FMC Corporation Provides Update to Third-Quarter Expectations
• Neutral Sentiment: The company plans to lower prices on selected products held by channel customers and revise its U.S. selling and pricing model to narrow the gap between gross and net pricing. These steps could improve inventory movement but are likely to pressure near-term margins and revenue. FMC Guides Below Expectations on Weak Demand and Price Cuts
• Negative Sentiment: FMC now expects third-quarter revenue of only $65 million to $125 million and adjusted EBITDA of negative $565 million to $510 million. The revised outlook includes approximately $625 million to $675 million of charges tied to commercial actions. An earlier reported revenue range of $690 million to $800 million was also below the roughly $865 million consensus estimate, underscoring the severity of the subsequent revision. FMC Third-Quarter Update
• Negative Sentiment: High inventories of more expensive products at certain channel customers are slowing product movement and reducing near-term demand. The company has not finalized its quarterly results and said it cannot yet estimate complete GAAP results, increasing uncertainty ahead of its scheduled October 29 earnings release. FMC Shares Plunge as Company Cuts Outlook

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FMC

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FMC. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in FMC in the second quarter worth about $8,498,000. AXQ Capital LP lifted its position in shares of FMC by 109.9% during the second quarter. AXQ Capital LP now owns 366,661 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,217,000 after buying an additional 191,945 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of FMC by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 213,656 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,679,000 after buying an additional 13,330 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings 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 valued at $2,704,000 after buying an additional 138,098 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of 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.

FMC Stock Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $10.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38. The stock has a market cap of $688.12 million, a PE ratio of -0.25 and a beta of 0.45.

FMC (NYSE:FMC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $841.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $895.14 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.69 EPS. FMC’s revenue was down 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that FMC Corporation will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FMC Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. FMC’s payout ratio is currently -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.