Wall Street Zen Downgrades Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) to Hold

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Mosaic from $38.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Mosaic from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Mosaic from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Mosaic from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 price target (up from $39.00) on shares of Mosaic in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.42.

Mosaic Price Performance

MOS stock opened at $33.70 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Mosaic has a 12 month low of $22.36 and a 12 month high of $38.23. The firm has a market cap of $10.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $34.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.84.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.71 by ($0.20). Mosaic had a net margin of 8.35% and a return on equity of 4.74%. The firm had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. Mosaic’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Mosaic will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Mosaic

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MOS. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mosaic in the 2nd quarter worth $6,793,000. Marex Group plc bought a new stake in shares of Mosaic in the 2nd quarter worth $3,373,000. Advisory Services Network LLC grew its stake in shares of Mosaic by 106.0% in the 2nd quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 19,437 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $700,000 after acquiring an additional 10,001 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Mosaic in the 2nd quarter worth $292,000. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP grew its position in Mosaic by 136.9% during the second quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 60,756 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,216,000 after buying an additional 35,106 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.54% of the company’s stock.

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.