The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $36.8333.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MOS shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on Mosaic from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mosaic from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mosaic in a report on Monday, July 14th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Mosaic to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Mosaic from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th.

Mosaic Stock Performance

Shares of MOS opened at $31.00 on Thursday. Mosaic has a 12-month low of $22.36 and a 12-month high of $38.23. The stock has a market cap of $9.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.51, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a 50-day moving average of $36.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.81.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. Mosaic had a return on equity of 4.82% and a net margin of 8.35%. Mosaic’s revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Mosaic will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mosaic

In other Mosaic news, SVP Walter F. Precourt III sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were 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 owned 128,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,592,948.58. This trade represents a 12.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its stake in Mosaic by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 40,256 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,087,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Mosaic by 27.8% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,749 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mosaic by 2.7% during the first quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,590 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Mosaic by 25.7% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,893 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abundance Wealth Counselors lifted its stake in shares of Mosaic by 1.8% in the second quarter. Abundance Wealth Counselors now owns 22,777 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $827,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. 77.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.