The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eighteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $32.3333.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MOS shares. HSBC reduced their price target on Mosaic from $35.00 to $26.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Mosaic from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Mosaic in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Mosaic from $37.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Mosaic from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mosaic

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MOS. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mosaic by 172.5% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 684 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares in the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank bought a new stake in Mosaic during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Mosaic by 169.3% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 956 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 601 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mosaic by 650.0% in the second quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 750 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rexford Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mosaic during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. 77.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mosaic Price Performance

NYSE MOS opened at $23.80 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $27.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.31. Mosaic has a 52 week low of $22.36 and a 52 week high of $38.23. The stock has a market cap of $7.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.01. Mosaic had a return on equity of 6.46% and a net margin of 10.33%.The business had revenue of $3.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.34 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 22.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Mosaic will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Mosaic Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 4th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 4th. Mosaic’s dividend payout ratio is 22.80%.

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.