Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) Trading Up 5% – Here’s Why

The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS)’s share price was up 5% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $26.14 and last traded at $26.06. Approximately 834,632 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 4,479,657 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.83.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Mosaic from $40.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. CIBC initiated coverage on shares of Mosaic in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Mosaic from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Mosaic from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of Mosaic in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.09.

Mosaic Trading Up 1.1 %

The company has a 50 day moving average of $25.71 and a 200 day moving average of $26.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.34.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The basic materials company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.24). The business had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.17 billion. Mosaic had a return on equity of 6.00% and a net margin of 3.24%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.68 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that The Mosaic Company will post 2.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mosaic Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. This is a positive change from Mosaic’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Mosaic’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.88%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mosaic

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MOS. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Mosaic by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 23,345 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $625,000 after buying an additional 354 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its position in Mosaic by 5.0% in the second quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 7,958 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mosaic by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 2,037 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mosaic by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 8,764 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $235,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Mosaic by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,498 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. 77.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.