Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) Stock Price Target Lowered at Mizuho

Key Points

• Mizuho lowered Mosaic’s price target from $25 to $22 while maintaining a neutral rating, implying roughly 17% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Mosaic has an overall “Hold” consensus, with 13 Hold, six Buy and three Sell ratings, and an average target price of $26.89.
• Mosaic’s latest quarter slightly beat EPS expectations at $0.13 versus $0.12, but revenue fell 6% year over year to $2.82 billion, below the $3.10 billion consensus estimate.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS - Get Free Report) had its target price cut by stock analysts at Mizuho from $25.00 to $22.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the basic materials company's stock. Mizuho's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 16.92% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on MOS. Freedom Capital cut Mosaic from a "strong-buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Zacks Research raised Mosaic from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Mosaic from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. KeyCorp began coverage on Mosaic in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. They issued a "sector weight" rating for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Mosaic from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Mosaic presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $26.89.

Mosaic Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:MOS opened at $18.82 on Tuesday. Mosaic has a 52-week low of $18.41 and a 52-week high of $32.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $23.33 and a 200 day moving average of $23.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.98 billion, a PE ratio of -9.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 1.34.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.01. Mosaic had a positive return on equity of 3.77% and a negative net margin of 5.21%. The business had revenue of $2.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Mosaic will post 0.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Mosaic

In related 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 value 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mosaic

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MOS. Riversedge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Mosaic during the third quarter valued at $201,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Mosaic by 38.0% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 21,460 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $465,000 after buying an additional 5,914 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mosaic by 136.3% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 15,352 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $332,000 after buying an additional 8,854 shares in the last quarter. Plan A Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mosaic by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Plan A Wealth LLC now owns 16,105 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mosaic by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 61,736 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,337,000 after buying an additional 5,724 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.54% of the company's stock.

About Mosaic

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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