FMC Corporation (FMC), headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is an agricultural sciences company that provides crop protection, plant health, and professional pest and turf management products. Valued at $6.1 billion by market cap, the company offers herbicides, insecticides and miticides, fungicides, harvest aids, and other crop chemicals used for seed corn, potatoes, sweet corn, cotton, tobacco, and other related products.
Companies worth $2 billion or more are generally described as “mid-cap stocks,” and FMC fits right into that category with its market cap exceeding this threshold, reflecting its substantial size, influence, and dominance in the agricultural inputs industry. FMC is a key player in the crop protection chemicals market, with a strong brand and loyal customer base. FMC's R&D investments have led to cutting-edge solutions for farmers and its wide distribution network allows it to reach customers globally and cater to diverse agricultural and industrial needs.
Despite its notable strength, FMC slipped 29.5% from its 52-week high of $68.72, achieved on May 13. Over the past three months, FMC stock has declined 26.5%, underperforming the Dow Jones Industrials Average’s ($DOWI) marginal gains during the same time frame.
In the longer term, shares of FMC fell 15.8% over the past six months and dipped 23.2% over the past 52 weeks, significantly underperforming DOWI’s six-month gains of 8.8% and solid 13% returns over the last year.
To confirm the bearish trend, FMC has been trading below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages since early November, with slight fluctuations.
Challenges such as pricing pressure in key markets, high channel inventory levels, and struggles in Asian markets have contributed to FMC's below-par performance.
On Oct. 29, FMC shares closed down more than 2% after reporting its Q3 results. Its adjusted EPS of $0.69 topped Wall Street expectations of $0.49. The company’s revenue was $1.1 billion, surpassing Wall Street forecasts of $1 billion. For Q4, FMC expects its adjusted EPS to range from $1.47 to $1.83, and expects revenue in the range of $1.3 billion to $1.4 billion.
In the competitive arena of agricultural inputs, Corteva, Inc. (CTVA) has taken the lead over FMC, showing resilience with a 4.9% uptick over the past six months and 18% gains over the past 52 weeks.
Wall Street analysts are moderately bullish on FMC’s prospects. The stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating from the 17 analysts covering it, and the mean price target of $69.07 suggests a potential upside of 42.6% from current price levels.
