The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Hold” consensus on Mosaic, with 12 hold, seven buy, and three sell ratings. The average 12-month price target is $27.17.
• Mosaic’s latest quarterly results slightly exceeded earnings expectations at $0.13 per share versus $0.12 expected, but revenue fell 6% year over year to $2.82 billion, below the $3.10 billion consensus.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, equivalent to $0.88 annually and a 3.5% yield based on the reported share price.

The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the twenty-two analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have assigned a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $27.1667.

MOS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Freedom Capital downgraded Mosaic from a "strong-buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Mosaic from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. HSBC dropped their price objective on Mosaic from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Mosaic from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Mosaic from $31.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 18th.

Mosaic Stock Performance

NYSE:MOS opened at $25.43 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.08 billion, a PE ratio of -12.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Mosaic has a 12-month low of $19.80 and a 12-month high of $36.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $23.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.80.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.13 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $2.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Mosaic will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mosaic Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Mosaic's payout ratio is -43.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mosaic news, SVP Walter Precourt, III sold 23,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.12, for a total transaction of $508,760.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 116,198 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,570,299.76. This represents a 16.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortress Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Mosaic during the 2nd quarter valued at $269,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new position in Mosaic in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new position in Mosaic in the second quarter worth $34,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Mosaic by 169.3% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 956 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in Mosaic by 72.9% in the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 1,245 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.54% of the company's stock.

About Mosaic

The Mosaic Company NYSE: MOS is a global producer and marketer of concentrated phosphate and potash crop nutrients. Its products are used by farmers to replenish essential nutrients in soil and support agricultural yields. The company also produces animal feed ingredients and other phosphorus-based products derived from its phosphate operations.

Mosaic's operations span the production, processing, distribution and marketing of crop nutrients. Its phosphate business is supported by phosphate rock mining and processing operations, while its potash business includes mining and processing facilities in Canada and the United States.

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