Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) Trading Up 7.3% – Should You Buy?

The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) traded up 7.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $25.47 and last traded at $25.4880. 4,025,452 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 28% from the average session volume of 5,567,894 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.75.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Mosaic from $49.00 to $43.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Mosaic from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Mosaic in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Mosaic from $37.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price target on shares of Mosaic from $43.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.13.

Mosaic Stock Up 3.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 1.14. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $27.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.14. The company has a market cap of $8.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.94.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.01. Mosaic had a net margin of 10.33% and a return on equity of 6.46%. The firm 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% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Mosaic Company will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mosaic Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 4th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Mosaic’s payout ratio is 22.80%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MOS. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Mosaic by 172.5% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 684 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares in the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Mosaic in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Mosaic by 169.3% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 956 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its holdings in Mosaic by 650.0% during the second quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 750 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rexford Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Mosaic in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.54% of the company’s stock.

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.