The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) Stock Position Lifted by Ranmore Fund Management Ltd

Key Points

• Ranmore Fund Management Ltd increased its stake in The Mosaic Company by 30.8% by acquiring an additional 80,000 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to 340,000 shares.
• The Mosaic Company reported earnings per share of $0.51 for the last quarter, which was below the consensus estimate of $0.71, with revenue also falling short of expectations at $3.01 billion.
• Various hedge funds, including Dimensional Fund Advisors LP and Deutsche Bank AG, have significantly increased their holdings in Mosaic during the fourth quarter, highlighting heightened institutional interest in the stock.

Ranmore Fund Management Ltd boosted its position in The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS - Free Report) by 30.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 340,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 80,000 shares during the quarter. Mosaic comprises 5.5% of Ranmore Fund Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Ranmore Fund Management Ltd owned approximately 0.11% of Mosaic worth $9,183,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gemsstock Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Mosaic during the 1st quarter worth about $14,007,000. AIA Group Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Mosaic during the 1st quarter worth about $1,315,000. CCM Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mosaic during the 1st quarter worth about $920,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mosaic during the 1st quarter worth about $33,897,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP raised its position in shares of Mosaic by 271.1% during the 1st quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 116,278 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,141,000 after buying an additional 84,944 shares in the last quarter. 77.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on MOS. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $43.00 price target (up from $39.00) on shares of Mosaic in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Mosaic from $38.00 to $34.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Mosaic from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mosaic from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Mosaic in a report on Monday, July 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $36.42.

Mosaic Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Mosaic stock traded down $0.11 during trading on Thursday, hitting $32.10. The stock had a trading volume of 3,416,985 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,452,457. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.98. The company has a market capitalization of $10.18 billion, a PE ratio of 10.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The Mosaic Company has a 1 year low of $22.36 and a 1 year high of $38.23.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.71 by ($0.20). The firm had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.11 billion. Mosaic had a return on equity of 4.74% and a net margin of 8.35%. The business's revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that The Mosaic Company will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mosaic

In other news, SVP Walter F. Precourt III sold 18,000 shares of Mosaic stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.73, for a total value of $643,140.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 128,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,592,948.58. This trade represents a 12.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Mosaic

The Mosaic Company, through its subsidiaries, produces and markets concentrated phosphate and potash crop nutrients in North America and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Phosphates, Potash, and Mosaic Fertilizantes. It owns and operates mines, which produce concentrated phosphate crop nutrients, such as diammonium phosphate, monoammonium phosphate, and ammoniated phosphate products; and phosphate-based animal feed ingredients primarily under the Biofos and Nexfos brand names, as well as produces a double sulfate of potash magnesia product under K-Mag brand name.