At US$60.78, Is FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC) Worth Looking At Closely?

FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC), is not the largest company out there, but it led the NYSE gainers with a relatively large price hike in the past couple of weeks. The recent rally in share prices has nudged the company in the right direction, though it still falls short of its yearly peak. With many analysts covering the mid-cap stock, we may expect any price-sensitive announcements have already been factored into the stock’s share price. But what if there is still an opportunity to buy? Let’s take a look at FMC’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if the opportunity still exists.

See our latest analysis for FMC

What's The Opportunity In FMC?

Great news for investors – FMC is still trading at a fairly cheap price according to our price multiple model, where we compare the company's price-to-earnings ratio to the industry average. We’ve used the price-to-earnings ratio in this instance because there’s not enough visibility to forecast its cash flows. The stock’s ratio of 12.79x is currently well-below the industry average of 20.8x, meaning that it is trading at a cheaper price relative to its peers. FMC’s share price also seems relatively stable compared to the rest of the market, as indicated by its low beta. If you believe the share price should eventually reach its industry peers, a low beta could suggest it is unlikely to rapidly do so anytime soon, and once it’s there, it may be hard to fall back down into an attractive buying range.

What kind of growth will FMC generate?

Future outlook is an important aspect when you’re looking at buying a stock, especially if you are an investor looking for growth in your portfolio. Buying a great company with a robust outlook at a cheap price is always a good investment, so let’s also take a look at the company's future expectations. However, with a relatively muted profit growth of 9.2% expected over the next couple of years, growth doesn’t seem like a key driver for a buy decision for FMC, at least in the short term.

What This Means For You

Are you a shareholder? Even though growth is relatively muted, since FMC is currently trading below the industry PE ratio, it may be a great time to accumulate more of your holdings in the stock. However, there are also other factors such as capital structure to consider, which could explain the current price multiple.

Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping an eye on FMC for a while, now might be the time to enter the stock. Its future profit outlook isn’t fully reflected in the current share price yet, which means it’s not too late to buy FMC. But before you make any investment decisions, consider other factors such as the track record of its management team, in order to make a well-informed assessment.

If you want to dive deeper into FMC, you'd also look into what risks it is currently facing. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for FMC you should be mindful of and 1 of them is concerning.

If you are no longer interested in FMC, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.