Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Mosaic's stock price gapped down significantly after Scotiabank downgraded its rating from sector outperform to sector perform, with a new price target set at $34.00.
• Several analysts adjusted their ratings and price targets for Mosaic, with the average rating currently at Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $35.67.
• The company recently reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.51, missing estimates and showing a year-over-year revenue increase of 6.7% despite not meeting consensus expectations.

The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Friday after Scotiabank downgraded the stock from a sector outperform rating to a sector perform rating. The stock had previously closed at $33.44, but opened at $30.60. Scotiabank now has a $34.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $39.00. Mosaic shares last traded at $30.77, with a volume of 3,530,951 shares trading hands.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on MOS. Wall Street Zen downgraded Mosaic from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Mosaic in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Mosaic from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Oppenheimer restated 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Mosaic from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $35.67.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MOS. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mosaic during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Mosaic by 1.3% in the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 53,172 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,436,000 after acquiring an additional 685 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mosaic by 45.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 16,685 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $451,000 after acquiring an additional 5,241 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Mosaic by 1,231.8% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 71,478 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,931,000 after buying an additional 66,111 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Mosaic by 339.5% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 363,704 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $9,824,000 after buying an additional 280,945 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.54% of the company's stock.

Mosaic Stock Performance

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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.00. The firm has a market cap of $9.82 billion, a PE ratio of 10.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.00.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.54 EPS. Mosaic's quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Mosaic Company will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mosaic Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 8th. Mosaic's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.83%.

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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