Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) shares gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $35.68, but opened at $31.95. Mosaic shares last traded at $31.90, with a volume of 2,407,795 shares traded.

The basic materials company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.04. Mosaic had a return on equity of 4.82% and a net margin of 8.35%. The company had revenue of $2.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mosaic in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Mosaic from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group upped their target price on Mosaic from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Mosaic from $29.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 price target (up from $39.00) on shares of Mosaic in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $36.83.

Insider Activity at Mosaic

In other news, SVP Walter F. Precourt III sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.73, for a total value of $643,140.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 128,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,592,948.58. This represents a 12.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Mosaic

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mosaic by 36.1% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 56,284 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,520,000 after purchasing an additional 14,943 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Mosaic by 1.3% in the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 53,172 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,436,000 after purchasing an additional 685 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mosaic in the first quarter worth approximately $1,119,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Mosaic by 19.9% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 47,186 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,275,000 after purchasing an additional 7,828 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Mosaic by 12.8% in the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 23,543 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $636,000 after purchasing an additional 2,663 shares during the last quarter. 77.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mosaic Stock Down 13.1%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a market capitalization of $9.83 billion, a PE ratio of 10.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $36.03 and a 200 day moving average of $30.81.

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.