Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) Stock Rating Lowered by Freedom Broker

Key Points

• Freedom Broker downgraded Mosaic to “sell” from “hold,” while raising its price target to $18 from $17; the new target implies 19.58% downside from the stock’s current price.
• Analyst sentiment overall remains “hold,” with an average price target of $25.63; six analysts rate MOS a buy, 13 a hold, and four a sell.
• Mosaic missed quarterly earnings expectations, reporting a loss of $0.19 per share versus the $0.01 loss forecast. Revenue was $3.10 billion, up slightly from consensus but down 10.2% year over year.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Freedom Broker from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report issued on Wednesday, FinViz reports. They currently have a $18.00 target price on the basic materials company's stock, up from their prior target price of $17.00. Freedom Broker's target price indicates a potential downside of 19.58% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on MOS. Barclays lowered their price objective on Mosaic from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 16th. cut Mosaic from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $27.00 to $25.00 in a report on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Mosaic in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce cut their target price on Mosaic from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp assumed coverage on Mosaic in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. They set a "sector weight" rating for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mosaic presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $25.63.

Mosaic Price Performance

NYSE MOS traded down $0.61 on Wednesday, reaching $22.38. 2,932,644 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,025,806. Mosaic has a 12 month low of $16.99 and a 12 month high of $32.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.72. The stock has a market cap of $7.12 billion, a PE ratio of -6.33, a P/E/G ratio of 19.45 and a beta of 0.88.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The basic materials company reported ($0.19) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by ($0.18). Mosaic had a negative net margin of 9.43% and a positive return on equity of 0.58%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.29 EPS. Mosaic's revenue for the quarter was down 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Mosaic will post 0.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 in the company, valued at $2,570,299.76. This trade represents a 16.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mosaic

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MOS. Fortress Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Mosaic during the 2nd quarter worth $269,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Mosaic in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Mosaic in the second quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Mosaic by 44.3% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,156 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 969 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Essential Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Mosaic by 81.0% in the 1st quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 3,569 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 1,597 shares during the last quarter. 77.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Mosaic

The Mosaic Company is a producer and marketer of concentrated phosphate and potash crop nutrients. Its products help farmers supply crops with essential nutrients, and the company also makes phosphate-based animal feed ingredients and products for industrial applications. Mosaic's operations include phosphate mining and processing in the United States and potash mining in Canada. Through its Brazilian operations, Mosaic Fertilizantes, the company produces, blends and distributes crop nutrients and related products in Brazil and other markets in South America.

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