Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) Cut to "Sector Perform" at RBC Dominion Securities

Key Points

• RBC Dominion Securities downgraded Mosaic from “outperform” to “sector perform” and lowered its price target from $27 to $25, implying 16.82% upside from the stock’s current price.
• Mosaic shares rose 1.6% to $21.40, while analysts’ overall consensus remains “Hold,” with a consensus price target of $26.95. The company recently beat quarterly earnings expectations but missed revenue estimates, with revenue down 6% year over year.
• Institutional ownership stands at 77.54%, including new positions from BlackRock, Donald Smith & Co., and other major investors; meanwhile, a Mosaic senior vice president sold 23,000 shares.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at RBC Dominion Securities from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, BayStreet reports. They presently have a $25.00 price target on the basic materials company's stock, down from their prior price target of $27.00. RBC Dominion Securities' target price suggests a potential upside of 16.82% from the stock's current price.

MOS has been the subject of a number of other research reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Mosaic from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on Mosaic in a report on Thursday, September 10th. They issued a "sector weight" rating on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on shares of Mosaic in a research report on Friday, June 26th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price target on shares of Mosaic from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Mosaic from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.95.

Mosaic Stock Up 1.6%

NYSE:MOS traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $21.40. The company had a trading volume of 5,131,843 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,724,665. Mosaic has a twelve month low of $19.80 and a twelve month high of $36.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market cap of $6.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.60, a P/E/G ratio of 5.78 and a beta of 0.91. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $23.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.36.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. Mosaic had a negative net margin of 5.21% and a positive return on equity of 3.77%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Mosaic will post 0.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mosaic news, SVP Walter Precourt, III sold 23,000 shares of Mosaic stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.12, for a total transaction of $508,760.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 116,198 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,570,299.76. The trade was a 16.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mosaic in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $524,484,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mosaic during the second quarter valued at approximately $163,662,000. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in Mosaic during the second quarter worth $108,329,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in Mosaic during the second quarter worth $73,112,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Mosaic in the second quarter worth $57,285,000. 77.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mosaic Company Profile

The Mosaic Company is a global producer and marketer of concentrated phosphate and potash crop nutrients. Its products are used by farmers to support plant growth, improve yields and replenish essential nutrients in agricultural soils. Mosaic also produces phosphate-based animal feed ingredients and other crop nutrition products.

Mosaic operates an integrated business that includes mining, processing, manufacturing and distribution. Its phosphate operations are primarily located in the United States, while its potash operations include mining assets in Canada and the United States.

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