Zacks: Analysts Anticipate The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) to Announce $2.44 EPS

Analysts forecast that The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS – Get Rating) will announce earnings per share (EPS) of $2.44 for the current quarter, according to Zacks Investment Research. Five analysts have made estimates for Mosaic’s earnings, with estimates ranging from $2.14 to $2.78. Mosaic posted earnings of $0.57 per share during the same quarter last year, which suggests a positive year over year growth rate of 328.1%. The firm is scheduled to issue its next quarterly earnings results after the market closes on Monday, January 1st.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that Mosaic will report full year earnings of $12.27 per share for the current financial year, with EPS estimates ranging from $10.25 to $14.95. For the next financial year, analysts forecast that the firm will post earnings of $9.61 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $5.47 to $11.96. Zacks’ earnings per share averages are an average based on a survey of sell-side research analysts that cover Mosaic.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.95 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95. The firm had revenue of $3.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. Mosaic had a return on equity of 18.45% and a net margin of 13.19%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 56.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.57 earnings per share.

Several analysts recently issued reports on MOS shares. Berenberg Bank downgraded Mosaic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $50.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Mosaic from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 21st. BNP Paribas cut Mosaic from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $82.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, April 20th. StockNews.com started coverage on Mosaic in a research report on Thursday, March 31st. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Mosaic from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.94.

In other news, VP Walter F. Precourt III sold 9,647 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.00, for a total transaction of $752,466.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 75,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,850,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Corrine D. Ricard sold 17,284 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.02, for a total transaction of $1,313,929.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,458,986.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 114,706 shares of company stock worth $7,385,870. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Mosaic by 44.8% during the first quarter. Private Capital Group LLC now owns 608 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Mosaic by 0.9% during the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 23,400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,773,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Regent Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Mosaic by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Regent Investment Management LLC now owns 54,920 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,158,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its position in shares of Mosaic by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 7,953 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in shares of Mosaic by 1.3% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 22,354 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,487,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. 73.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mosaic stock opened at $64.85 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.88 billion, a PE ratio of 15.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The business’s fifty day moving average is $63.29 and its 200 day moving average is $47.88. Mosaic has a one year low of $28.26 and a one year high of $79.28.

Mosaic announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 22nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the basic materials company to reacquire up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

About Mosaic (Get Rating)

The Mosaic Company, through its subsidiaries, produces and markets concentrated phosphate and potash crop nutrients in North America and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Phosphates, Potash, and Mosaic Fertilizantes. It owns and operates mines, which produce concentrated phosphate crop nutrients, such as diammonium phosphate, monoammonium phosphate, and ammoniated phosphate products; and phosphate-based animal feed ingredients primarily under the Biofos and Nexfos brand names, as well as produces a double sulfate of potash magnesia product under K-Mag brand name.

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