Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) Lowered to "Hold" Rating by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Mosaic has been downgraded by Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating, reflecting a shift in analyst sentiment towards the stock.
• Barclays and Wells Fargo recently cut their price targets for Mosaic to $44.00 and $34.00 respectively, with a consensus rating of "hold" from multiple analysts.
• Mosaic's stock has decreased by 9.1%, with its latest earnings report showing $0.51 EPS, falling short of analyst expectations of $0.71 EPS.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on MOS. Barclays cut their price target on Mosaic from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Mosaic from $38.00 to $34.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Mosaic from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $43.00 price target (up previously from $39.00) on shares of Mosaic in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Mosaic from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mosaic currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $34.83.

Mosaic Stock Down 9.1%

NYSE:MOS opened at $30.39 on Thursday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $33.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.02. Mosaic has a 52-week low of $22.36 and a 52-week high of $38.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $9.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.00.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.71 by ($0.20). Mosaic had a return on equity of 4.74% and a net margin of 8.35%.The firm had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.54 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Mosaic will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Mosaic

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its stake in Mosaic by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 12,149 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $447,000 after buying an additional 333 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Mosaic by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 40,256 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,087,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Mosaic by 27.8% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,749 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Mosaic by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,590 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Mosaic by 25.7% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,893 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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