Mosaic Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:MOS)

The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors purchased 95,703 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 758% compared to the average volume of 11,160 call options.

Mosaic Price Performance

Shares of Mosaic stock traded down $1.60 on Friday, hitting $34.80. 11,022,767 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,758,426. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 1.19. Mosaic has a 52 week low of $22.36 and a 52 week high of $37.69. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.74.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.04. Mosaic had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 6.00%. The firm had revenue of $2.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Mosaic will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mosaic Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. Mosaic's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.86%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Walter F. Precourt III sold 18,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 now owns 128,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,592,948.58. This trade represents a 12.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Mosaic by 0.9% during the first quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 40,256 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,087,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Mosaic by 27.8% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,749 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 380 shares during the period. Twin Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Mosaic by 2.7% during the first quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,590 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $394,000 after buying an additional 384 shares during the period. Intellectus Partners LLC boosted its stake in Mosaic by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 12,350 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Strengthening Families & Communities LLC boosted its stake in Mosaic by 12.0% during the first quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 4,210 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $116,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. 77.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MOS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of 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 research note on Thursday, May 8th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Mosaic from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up previously from $33.00) on shares of Mosaic in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Mosaic from $28.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Mosaic to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $34.58.

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.