The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $40.27.

Several analysts recently weighed in on MOS shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on Mosaic in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $39.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Mosaic from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Scotiabank raised Mosaic from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Mizuho lowered Mosaic from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, TheStreet lowered Mosaic from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th.

Mosaic Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE MOS opened at $30.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 1.22. Mosaic has a 52 week low of $29.25 and a 52 week high of $45.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.73, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $31.46 and its 200 day moving average is $33.48.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The basic materials company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.82 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. Mosaic had a net margin of 8.51% and a return on equity of 9.69%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 29.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.74 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mosaic will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mosaic Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 6th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 6th. Mosaic’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.07%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mosaic

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MOS. Denali Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mosaic by 100.5% in the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 826 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the period. Clear Street Markets LLC increased its holdings in Mosaic by 93.9% in the first quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 669 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Mosaic in the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in Mosaic in the first quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, First Command Bank increased its holdings in Mosaic by 60.1% in the second quarter. First Command Bank now owns 866 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. 77.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Mosaic

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.