Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) Reaches New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

Shares of The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $38.06 and last traded at $37.74, with a volume of 2788666 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.78.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on MOS. CIBC lifted their price objective on shares of Mosaic from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Mosaic from $28.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Mosaic from $29.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Mosaic in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Mosaic from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $34.58.

Mosaic Stock Down 1.4%

The company has a market capitalization of $11.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 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. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $34.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.97.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. Mosaic had a return on equity of 4.91% and a net margin of 3.32%. Mosaic's quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that The Mosaic Company will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction of $643,140.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 128,546 shares in the company, valued at $4,592,948.58. This trade represents a 12.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mosaic

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MOS. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Mosaic in the fourth quarter valued at $1,054,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of Mosaic by 59.5% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,682 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $189,000 after buying an additional 2,867 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Mosaic in the fourth quarter valued at about $238,000. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its position in shares of Mosaic by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 103,876 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,553,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Mosaic by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,368,596 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $82,800,000 after acquiring an additional 150,186 shares during the last quarter. 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.