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

The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the thirteen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $40.27.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MOS shares. Scotiabank upgraded Mosaic from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. TheStreet downgraded Mosaic from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Mosaic from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Wolfe Research began coverage on Mosaic in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Mosaic from $54.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 1st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mosaic

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mosaic by 15.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,251 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 945 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems purchased a new stake in shares of Mosaic in the third quarter worth approximately $940,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Mosaic in the third quarter worth approximately $420,000. DnB Asset Management AS raised its holdings in shares of Mosaic by 73.8% in the third quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 132,246 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,708,000 after buying an additional 56,155 shares during the period. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Mosaic in the third quarter worth approximately $243,000. 77.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mosaic Stock Performance

MOS stock opened at $30.41 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.50. Mosaic has a 1 year low of $29.25 and a 1 year high of $44.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $31.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.38.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The basic materials company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.09 billion. Mosaic had a return on equity of 9.69% and a net margin of 8.51%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 29.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.74 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mosaic will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Mosaic Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 6th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. Mosaic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.07%.

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.