FMC (NYSE:FMC) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from Royal Bank Of Canada

FMC (NYSE:FMC) had its price objective trimmed by Royal Bank Of Canada from $11.00 to $9.00 in a report released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a sector perform rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on FMC. KeyCorp began coverage on FMC in a report on Friday, September 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $16.00 target price on the stock. Seaport Research Partners set a $21.00 price target on FMC in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research cut FMC from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on FMC from $15.50 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of FMC in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $11.68.

FMC Stock Up 0.6%

FMC stock opened at $5.66 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $708.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.26 and a beta of 0.45. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $10.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.12. FMC has a 52 week low of $4.84 and a 52 week high of $30.95.

FMC (NYSE:FMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $841.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $895.14 million. FMC had a negative net margin of 84.83% and a positive return on equity of 11.35%. FMC’s revenue was down 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.69 EPS. On average, analysts expect that FMC will post 1.20 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FMC Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.7%. FMC’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1.45%.

Institutional Trading of FMC

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in FMC during the second quarter valued at approximately $8,498,000. AXQ Capital LP boosted its holdings in FMC by 109.9% during the second 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. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in FMC by 6.7% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 213,656 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,679,000 after buying an additional 13,330 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in FMC by 142.4% during the second 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. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in FMC in the first quarter worth approximately $1,401,000. 91.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting FMC

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

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.