Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Mosaic (NYSE:MOS)

The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors acquired 18,158 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 81% compared to the typical daily volume of 10,048 call options.

Mosaic Trading Down 3.2%

Shares of NYSE:MOS opened at $34.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.79, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.99. Mosaic has a 1-year low of $22.36 and a 1-year high of $38.23. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $33.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.45.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. Mosaic had a net margin of 8.35% and a return on equity of 4.74%. Mosaic’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.54 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Mosaic will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mosaic Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th were given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Mosaic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MOS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Mosaic from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mosaic in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 price target (up from $39.00) on shares of Mosaic in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Mosaic from $38.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Mosaic from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.42.

Institutional Trading of Mosaic

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mosaic by 2.8% in the second quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 12,149 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $447,000 after buying an additional 333 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Mosaic by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 40,256 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,087,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Mosaic by 27.8% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,749 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the period. Twin Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Mosaic by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,590 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Mosaic by 25.7% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,893 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.