FMC (NYSE:FMC) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $58.36, but opened at $63.35. FMC shares last traded at $66.85, with a volume of 650,321 shares traded.

The basic materials company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.13. FMC had a net margin of 27.65% and a return on equity of 7.68%. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. FMC’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

FMC Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 17th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. FMC’s dividend payout ratio is 25.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on FMC shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on FMC from $68.00 to $62.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of FMC from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on FMC from $79.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on FMC from $65.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised FMC from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.71.

Institutional Trading of FMC

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of FMC during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in FMC during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its stake in shares of FMC by 114.3% in the first quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 568 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of FMC during the first quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of FMC by 56.9% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 678 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. 91.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FMC Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $8.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.46.

About FMC

FMC Corporation, an agricultural sciences company, provides crop protection, plant health, and professional pest and turf management products. It develops, markets, and sells crop protection chemicals that includes insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides; and biologicals, crop nutrition, and seed treatment products, which are used in agriculture to enhance crop yield and quality by controlling a range of insects, weeds, and diseases, as well as in non-agricultural markets for pest control.