Mosaic Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:MOS)

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on MOS. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Mosaic from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $30.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Mosaic in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mosaic from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Mosaic from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Mosaic in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $34.58.

Mosaic Trading Down 4.0%

Shares of MOS stock traded down $1.46 on Friday, hitting $34.95. 7,327,327 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,734,300. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 1.19. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $30.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.65. Mosaic has a twelve month low of $22.36 and a twelve month high of $37.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.09 billion, a PE ratio of 30.95, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Mosaic Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. Mosaic's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mosaic

In other Mosaic news, SVP Walter F. Precourt III sold 18,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.73, for a total value of $643,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 128,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,592,948.58. The trade was a 12.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mosaic

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mosaic by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,368,596 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $82,800,000 after acquiring an additional 150,186 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Mosaic in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,054,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Mosaic by 59.5% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,682 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $189,000 after purchasing an additional 2,867 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Mosaic by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 122,893 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,933,000 after buying an additional 1,489 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mosaic in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,599,000. 77.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Mosaic

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.