The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) Short Interest Update

The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,940,000 shares, an increase of 36.1% from the March 31st total of 5,100,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,790,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days. Currently, 2.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Scotiabank raised Mosaic from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Piper Sandler cut shares of Mosaic from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $42.00 to $32.00 in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Mosaic from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Mosaic in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Mosaic from $54.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.27.

Mosaic Stock Performance

MOS stock opened at $30.25 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $31.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.67, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.50. 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 1 year low of $29.25 and a 1 year high of $43.99.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The basic materials company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by ($0.11). Mosaic had a net margin of 8.51% and a return on equity of 9.69%. The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 29.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Mosaic will post 2.79 EPS for the current year.

Mosaic Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 6th. Mosaic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.07%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mosaic

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Denali Advisors LLC increased its stake in Mosaic by 100.5% during the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 826 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 414 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in Mosaic during the first quarter worth approximately $40,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Mosaic by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,455 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Mosaic by 526.1% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,534 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mosaic during the 3rd quarter valued at $57,000. 77.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mosaic Company Profile

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.