Oppenheimer Reiterates Outperform Rating for Mosaic (NYSE:MOS)

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating reaffirmed by analysts at Oppenheimer in a research report issued on Tuesday, July 15th, MarketBeat.com reports. They presently have a $43.00 price objective on the basic materials company's stock, up from their previous price objective of $39.00. Oppenheimer's target price would suggest a potential upside of 16.51% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on MOS. BNP Paribas upgraded Mosaic to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Mosaic from $29.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Mosaic in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mosaic from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Mosaic from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $40.00 in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mosaic currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $36.75.

Mosaic Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of Mosaic stock traded down $0.48 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $36.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,210,800 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,299,763. Mosaic has a 12 month low of $22.36 and a 12 month high of $38.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $36.04 and a 200 day moving average of $30.37. The company has a market capitalization of $11.71 billion, a PE ratio of 31.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.04. Mosaic had a return on equity of 4.91% and a net margin of 3.32%. The company had revenue of $2.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Mosaic will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Walter F. Precourt III sold 18,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.73, for a total value of $643,140.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mosaic

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mosaic during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Mosaic by 169.3% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 956 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 601 shares during the period. Bangor Savings Bank bought a new position in Mosaic during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in Mosaic during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Mosaic by 102.3% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,062 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 537 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.54% of the company's stock.

Mosaic Company Profile

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.