The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) Stock Has Average Target Price of $26.95

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Hold” consensus on Mosaic, with 14 hold, six buy and three sell ratings. The average 12-month price target is $26.95, though several firms recently lowered their targets.
• Mosaic shares opened at $21.26, well below the analyst average target and near the lower end of their 52-week range. The company’s latest quarterly earnings of $0.13 per share slightly beat estimates, but revenue fell 6% year over year to $2.82 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, equivalent to an annualized $0.88 payout and a 4.1% yield. Institutional investors own 77.54% of Mosaic, while an insider recently sold 23,000 shares.

The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the twenty-three brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fourteen have issued a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $26.95.

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $25.00 target price (down from $27.00) on shares of Mosaic in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Mosaic from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Mosaic from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn initiated coverage on shares of Mosaic in a report on Friday, June 26th. They set a "buy" rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Mizuho set a $25.00 target price on shares of Mosaic in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th.

Mosaic Stock Performance

NYSE MOS opened at $21.26 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.53, a P/E/G ratio of 5.78 and a beta of 0.91. The company's fifty day moving average is $23.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.30. Mosaic has a 52-week low of $19.80 and a 52-week high of $36.00.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. Mosaic had a positive return on equity of 3.77% and a negative net margin of 5.21%.Mosaic's revenue for the quarter was down 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Mosaic will post 0.36 EPS for the current year.

Mosaic Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 10th were given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 10th. Mosaic's dividend payout ratio is -43.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mosaic news, SVP Walter Precourt, III sold 23,000 shares of Mosaic stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 16.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mosaic

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MOS. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of Mosaic by 22.2% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 366,466 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $9,345,000 after purchasing an additional 66,608 shares in the last quarter. Tejara Capital Ltd bought a new position in Mosaic during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,301,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Mosaic by 7.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,486,973 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $63,418,000 after buying an additional 170,724 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in Mosaic in the second quarter valued at about $73,112,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Mosaic by 18.6% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 401,445 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $10,237,000 after buying an additional 62,883 shares in the last quarter. 77.54% of the stock is currently 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.