The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $35.40.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MOS. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Mosaic in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. CIBC initiated coverage on shares of Mosaic in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Mosaic from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Mosaic from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Mosaic from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th.

Mosaic Price Performance

Shares of Mosaic stock opened at $24.58 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.93. Mosaic has a twelve month low of $23.56 and a twelve month high of $37.29.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The basic materials company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.24). The business had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.17 billion. Mosaic had a return on equity of 6.00% and a net margin of 3.24%. Mosaic’s quarterly revenue was down 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. Analysts forecast that Mosaic will post 2.07 EPS for the current year.

Mosaic Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Mosaic’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. Mosaic’s payout ratio is currently 77.88%.

Institutional Trading of Mosaic

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Mosaic by 34.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,337,124 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $183,155,000 after acquiring an additional 1,628,850 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Mosaic by 44.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,218,410 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $86,189,000 after acquiring an additional 986,812 shares during the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. raised its position in Mosaic by 84.7% in the 2nd quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 2,083,233 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $60,205,000 after purchasing an additional 955,199 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in shares of Mosaic by 40.6% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 3,279,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $87,817,000 after acquiring an additional 947,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mosaic by 15.1% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,311,123 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $95,691,000 after purchasing an additional 435,598 shares during the period. 77.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.