Investors Purchase Large Volume of FMC Call Options (NYSE:FMC)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity: Investors purchased 2,747 FMC call options, about 29% above the typical volume of 2,124 contracts.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Several firms cut their price targets, and FMC has a consensus “Hold” rating with an average target of $14.25.
• Weak operating trends persisted: Quarterly revenue fell 17.5% year over year to $841.4 million, although adjusted EPS of $0.26 exceeded estimates; the company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share.

FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors bought 2,747 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 29% compared to the typical volume of 2,124 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on FMC from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on FMC from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on FMC from $15.50 to $12.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Barclays raised FMC from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Mizuho set a $16.00 price target on shares of FMC in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $14.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FMC

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FMC. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in FMC by 1,022.7% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,861,482 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $21,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,695,683 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of FMC in the second quarter valued at about $8,498,000. AXQ Capital LP lifted its position in FMC by 109.9% during the 2nd 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. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in FMC by 142.4% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 235,089 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,704,000 after acquiring an additional 138,098 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 13,330 shares in the last quarter. 91.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FMC Price Performance

FMC stock traded up $1.05 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $12.93. The company had a trading volume of 1,324,109 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,808,984. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $11.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.13. FMC has a fifty-two week low of $9.94 and a fifty-two week high of $38.68. The company has a market cap of $1.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -0.58 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38.

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

FMC Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. FMC's payout ratio is -1.45%.

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.

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