FMC Corp (FMC) Announces 10% Increase in Quarterly Dividend
FMC Corporation’s FMC board of directors recently announced a 10% hike in quarterly dividend. The dividend of 44 cents per share is payable on Jan 16, 2020 to its shareholders of record as of the close of business on Dec 31, 2019.
The company’s latest move aligns with the policy of regularly rewarding its shareholders by increasing the dividend at the same rate of growth in net income.
Notably, FMC Corp had cash and cash equivalents of $419.7 million at the end of third-quarter 2019, up more than 159% year over year. Long-term debt was $3,032.4 million at the end of the third quarter.
In third-quarter 2019 earnings call, the company raised its revenue and earnings guidance for 2019. For the full year, it now projects revenues between $4.58 billion and $4.62 billion (up from the range $4.5-$4.6 billion expected earlier). The revised guidance indicates a rise of 7% at the midpoint from recast 2018 figure.
Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) for 2019 are expected in the range of $5.80-$5.90 compared with its earlier view of $5.68-$5.88. The revised guidance indicates an increase of 12% at the midpoint from recast 2018 figure.
Moreover, revenues for fourth-quarter 2019 are projected in the band of $1.17-$1.21 billion, which indicates 8% growth at the midpoint from recast fourth-quarter 2018. Adjusted EPS for fourth-quarter 2019 are forecast in the range of $1.46-$1.56, which points to 3% growth at the midpoint from recast fourth-quarter 2018 figure.
Notably, the company remains committed to return value to its shareholders by leveraging healthy cash flows. It expects to repurchase $400 million shares in 2019, which includes $300 million already purchased this year. The company expects to generate free cash flow of $375-$475 million in 2019.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
FMC Corp currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd KL, Impala Platinum Holdings Limited IMPUY and Pan American Silver Corp. PAAS, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Kirkland Lake Gold has an expected earnings growth rate of 99.3% for 2019. The company’s shares have surged 59.5% in the past year.
Impala Platinum Holdings has projected earnings growth rate of 255.2% for fiscal 2020. The company’s shares have skyrocketed 325.8% over a year.
Pan American Silver has an estimated earnings growth rate of 56.4% for the current year. Its shares have returned 49.3% in the past year.
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